Summer 2020 Banter and random observations

[MJO812]

Watch we get a hurricane  in sept. Already 2 tropical storms.

[Amped]

And here's the slow motion.   You can see the blast wave creating debris and sends it flying outward.   Then the rising air plume starts sucking debris back inward..

 

[Skivt2]

2 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Yeah I personally liked a hybrid approach to start. Something like one week on one week off or 2 days and 3 days etc etc. I really think continued remote learning is going to be a disaster for growth, especially younger kids.

(Not saying you), but I find it weird that teachers seem to be the only group not being asked to assume some risk returning to work. Everyone is assuming some sort of risk leaving their home and going to work, why should they be any different? As long as reasonable precautions are taken, what more can you ask?

There are a ton of folks working from home until 2021.  Pretty much the entire financial services industry. Everyone in back room office operations and IT.  Lots of people not being asked to assume the risk of working in person.  

[Dan76]

2 hours ago, MJO812 said:

Watch we get a hurricane  in sept. Already 2 tropical storms.

Why not OCT?

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

18 minutes ago, Skivt2 said:

There are a ton of folks working from home until 2021.  Pretty much the entire financial services industry. Everyone in back room office operations and IT.  Lots of people not being asked to assume the risk of working in person.  

I understand that, but teaching isn’t really something that can be done remotely.

I work in facilities at a local university, I don’t have the luxury of working from home. You just can’t do it, especially long term.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Looks like Mass is removing RI from quarantine exempt states.

Anyone from mass traveling back from RI now needs to quarantine.

[Ginx snewx]

33 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Looks like Mass is removing RI from quarantine exempt states.

Anyone from mass traveling back from RI now needs to quarantine.

same with CT, that will leave a dent in our Casinos pockets.

 

2700 tons of fert. Okc bombing was like 200

[Skivt2]

3 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

I understand that, but teaching isn’t really something that can be done remotely.

I work in facilities at a local university, I don’t have the luxury of working from home. You just can’t do it, especially long term.

Well obviously then there are lots of groups not being asked to take a risk.  Why should teachers have to take that risk?  Not to get into it but my job requires communicating and teaching difficult concepts To adults that have to then take action on those concepts.  It’s Skype meetings all day long sharing screens with prepared materials and then answering questions as folks being to work on the tasks.  It’s not easy but with some effort I’m sure it could be successful. Being in a video zoom type setting is not live in person but it is close.  We are probably only talking 4-6 months before we at least have a “rescue” type treatment if you contract a bad case.  And maybe 6-8 until you could assume most get vaccinated. We are not taking forever here.  Why not find a way to make true remote video teaching the short term solution to save lives?  Why should teachers, students and their families take such an enormous risk when so many others are not asked to take a similar risk?

[yoda]

So @Damage In Tolland did lose power then?  For days and days?  My bad for betting he wouldn't 

[weathafella]

Speaking of risk....keeping my eyes open.  We have to visit Chicago and we’ve chosen not to fly....driving.   Researched lodging and determined air bnb is safest vs hotel just due to the fact that there is little F2F with anyone aside from your family.  We’ll bring disinfectant and return a few days later.   Hopefully I can get tested at work (results typically in 24 hours or less) because I don’t at all like working from home and a lot of my stuff can’t be done that way.   But if this ramps up as we move indoors I’m out.   Otherwise no later than the end of the year.  I’m tired!

[Baroclinic Zone]

14 hours ago, Hazey said:

I saw a report that there may have been 2700 tones of confiscated fert being stored there after it was seized as illegal cargo. Apparently this was back in 2013 but it was still being held at the port. Again just a story I saw on the net. Might be bs but that’s looks like a 3kiloton blast. I feel bad for them. What a disaster for a country that was already struggling.

Put that in perspective.  The Oklahoma City Bombing was 2.5 tons.  This was 100 times larger.

[MJO812]

10 hours ago, Dan76 said:

Why not OCT?

I want a Blizzicane

[weatherwiz]

Has anyone used the ISU site for bufkit before? the PSU site has been having all kinda of issues. Was trying to load profiles into bufget from the ISU site, however, doesn't seem to work. 

https://meteor.geol.iastate.edu/~ckarsten/bufkit/data/index.html

[NorEastermass128]

1 hour ago, weathafella said:

Speaking of risk....keeping my eyes open.  We have to visit Chicago and we’ve chosen not to fly....driving.   Researched lodging and determined air bnb is safest vs hotel just due to the fact that there is little F2F with anyone aside from your family.  We’ll bring disinfectant and return a few days later.   Hopefully I can get tested at work (results typically in 24 hours or less) because I don’t at all like working from home and a lot of my stuff can’t be done that way.   But if this ramps up as we move indoors I’m out.   Otherwise no later than the end of the year.  I’m tired!

Nobody would fault you if you checked out as we move toward the indoor cool weather seasons. You’ve done your time and we all are thankful for your service.  

[HIPPYVALLEY]

The Beirut explosion looks similar in size to the Tianjin China blast.  

[PhineasC]

Seems like the news is back to barely covering the COVID "thing."

Did that rise in cases in AZ, FL, and TX lead to bodies in the streets? The silence in the media tells me the fear hype never panned out.

[NorEastermass128]

Just now, PhineasC said:

Seems like the news is back to barely covering the COVID "thing."

Did that rise in cases in AZ, FL, and TX lead to bodies in the streets? The silence in the media tells me the fear hype never panned out.

1300+ dead per day is no big deal?  Got it. 

[CoastalWx]

I know in TX it is still increasing. I don't think it's all about the deaths...but all the effects again like shutting more things down. All of it could have been slowed too, but of course humans are dumb and politicize everything. I can't wait until aliens invade...or maybe they see how dumb we are and completely avoid us. 

[Baroclinic Zone]

News here is still covering it for a large portion of the newscast

[PhineasC]

Just now, NorEastermass128 said:

1300+ dead per day is no big deal?  Got it. 

Who said it was no big deal?

It simply appears that the powers that be have decided news fatigue has set in and Americans are going to simply "accept" 1300 deaths per day. It was inevitable this would happen, since we already accept a certain number of homicide deaths per day, car accident deaths per day, etc.

I'm seeing a lot less coverage of the case numbers out there, even less for deaths.

[PhineasC]

Just now, Baroclinic Zone said:

News here is still covering it for a large portion of the newscast

It pretty much fell off the local news in Baltimore from what I am seeing. My MIL watches it every night. They seem to be pivoting to the election now after the long delay. And of course Baltimore's decline into oblivion, which can easily fill a 1 hour broadcast.

[PhineasC]

Most of the coverage I am seeing relating to COVID is about the schools. That's going to dominate the story well into the fall.

[CoastalWx]

1 minute ago, PhineasC said:

Most of the coverage I am seeing relating to COVID is about the schools. That's going to dominate the story well into the fall.

That has been stressful for us parents. My wife is a bag of nerves. 

[Baroclinic Zone]

5 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

That has been stressful for us parents. My wife is a bag of nerves. 

I feel for you who have younger kids just starting.  I have a senior.  They are distributing Chromebooks to every student now, as a requirement.  Picked hers up on Monday.  They'll be starting from home the first couple months it would appear.  Then they will supposedly go 2 days a week for the 1/2 the student body and the other 1/2 will go on 2 separate days of the week.  So they will be home 3 days a week when they start to go into the classroom.

[dryslot]

My wife and many others are pissed and started a petition, I'm not wearing a mask in my house and that's where we draw another line.

 

On July 31st the State of Maine Childcare Licensing shared the Updated Guidance for Childcare Providers created by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services/ Child and Family Services. The 14 page document speaks of guidance yet the bullet point concerning masks says it is a must. The following is the clause referring to masks.

"Staff members and adults entering the child care must wear masks or face coverings. When staff and adults are outdoors and physical distancing cannot be maintained, masks or face coverings must be worn. Children age 5 and older must wear face coverings within the facility as well as the outdoors if physical distancing cannot be maintained.  Children ages 2-4 are encouraged to wear face coverings. Cloth face coverings should not be put on babies and children under 2 years of age due to risk associated with difficulty breathing and suffocation."

There are no daycares where a 6 foot physical distancing between child to child or child to staff is possible, therefore we are talking about our children and staff of daycares wearing masks for up to 12 hours per day. How will this affect learning, speech, child anxiety, bonding, etc.?

Daycare owners immediately started reaching out to their licensing reps and were told it is a must and not negotiable starting August 8th. When asked how this will affect them if they do not comply there are no answers. Out of fear for non compliance, getting a failed inspection and possible revocation of licenses many daycares feel helpless. Some are refusing, others are submitting while some have said they will close. The daycare industry has taken a huge impact and parents are already having a hard time finding and procuring daycare.

Our children need your help. Daycares are an extension of their home and should be a place of comfort and nurturing. There are many reasons parents and providers are opposed to this including: speech, unwillingness for child to wear them, facial expressions interrupted, rashes and breathing difficulties, employee retention, more daycare closures, sharing and touching of masks, anxiety and fears in small children, the list is endless. 

Why, after 5 months, does the State of Maine feel this is necessary for our children's daycares? Please, ask a daycare provider their thoughts. Ask a parent if they want their child masked all day. Ask yourself is this really going to make a difference or does the fact that no childcare in the past 5 months has had an outbreak issue warrant this mandate?

We parents need to be heard and will bring the results of this petition to a press conference soon. Please share far and wide as we are speaking for our children, the innocent, who can not speak for themselves. 

[dryslot]

On a better note, What a beaut at Portland Headlight this morning

[DavisStraight]

39 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

I feel for you who have younger kids just starting.  I have a senior.  They are distributing Chromebooks to every student now, as a requirement.  Picked hers up on Monday.  They'll be starting from home the first couple months it would appear.  Then they will supposedly go 2 days a week for the 1/2 the student body and the other 1/2 will go on 2 separate days of the week.  So they will be home 3 days a week when they start to go into the classroom.

Similar to what my wife's company is doing, one week she'll go in for 2 days and 3 from home then 3 in and 2 from home. 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I have some friends who are school administrators in various towns and apparently it is very tight finding new teachers to hire and they are pretty much no substitute teachers available. 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I had been thinking about getting into a new line of work but the beer/ brewing world still has some job security so I guess I should count my blessings.

[kdxken]

1 hour ago, CoastalWx said:

That has been stressful for us parents. My wife is a bag of nerves. 

What's Weymouth doing as far as school? All remote or partial?

 

I have some friends with small children and the public school is only running on-site 2 days a week. One friend has grouped together with other parents and hired tutors for the other three days. Can see that happening in the wealthier communities.