Larry David: “I basically want to address the idiots out there…. You’re passing up a fantastic opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to stay in the house, sit on the couch and watch TV!” twitter.com/gavinnews…
The US is losing jobs drastically faster than other nations -- by design
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Emmanual Saez and Gabriel Zucman, economists at the University of California, Berkeley, writing at the New York Times: According to some projections, unemployment might rise to 30% in the second quarter of 2020 in the US, far beyond what other nations are seeing. Elsewhere, “governments are protecting employment. Workers keep their jobs, even in industries that are shut down. The government covers most of their wage through direct payments to employers.
A major medical staffing company just slashed benefits for doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Yes, you read that right. The company, Alteon Health, slashed benefits to emergency room healthcare workers during the pandemic. These emergency room healthcare workers are literally the most important people in the world right now. Isaac Arnsdorf at ProPublica: Alteon Health, a staffing company backed by private-equity firm Frazier Healthcare Partners, will cut salaries, time off and retirement benefits for providers, citing lost revenue. Several hospital operators announced similar cuts.
Seth Davis was stranded at Los Angeles Airport for three months after his wallet was stolen Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Until a few days ago, he and his seizure dog, Poppy, lived at Terminal 6, sleeping on the floor behind a pillar. Stranded and homeless at LAX. Then coronavirus hit - Los Angeles Times Devastating story, by Maria L. La Ganga with photographer Francine Orr: Davis had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and epilepsy. He had been in foster care or adult protective services for most of his three decades.
Loss of taste is a warning sign for COVID-19 so if you wear any of the following, immediately self-isolate:
- Socks with sandals
- side-cut tank tops
- Shoes with velcro fasteners
- Ugg boots
- Pajama pants in public
A year ago today I was at San Diego Airport and saw this tile for sale at one of the shops. For the rest of my life, I will regret not purchasing it.
That sad moment when you realize it may be time to throw one of your favorite T-shirts into the rag bag.
The GOP is pushing forward with plans to kill Obamacare because if you’re a Republican now seems to be a great time to deny healthcare coverage to 20 million Americans. - Sam Brodey at The Daily Beast
Las Vegas, with 150,000 vacant hotel rooms, has the homeless sleeping on the ground in parking lots. - Mario Koran at The Guardian
That time there was a Communist revolution inside the online game Runescape - Emilie Rākete at The Spinoff
“… armed with both the revolutionary science of Marxism and dragon battleaxes, the RuneScape communists were militarily undefeatable. Within three months, the communists controlled 95% of Server 32.”
Joe Biden is getting a pass on sexual assault and misbehavior allegations
Arwa Mahdawi at Common Dreams: “For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real.”
Joe Biden said that. The same standard should apply to the accuser against him.
OpenTable will allow people to reserve shopping times at supermarkets - Taylor Lyles at The Verge
Trials in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Good idea.
I’m due to make another supermarket run in a day or two.
How social distancing looks from the virus’s point of view.
Thanks, Cory!
You shouldn’t use Zoom; it’s a privacy disaster. - John Gruber at Daring Fireball
I agree … but I gotta be honest here; I’m following the course of least resistance and using Zoom anyway.
Gruber advises using Zoom on the iPhone or iPad, where you must use Zoom. I’m going to think about whether I can somehow elevate my iPad to give me a good camera angle on Zoom.
Similarly, I’m very active on Facebook despite strong misgivings about its business model. Path of least resistance. It’s where the people are.
High Fidelity at 20: the sneakily dark edge of a comedy about bad breakups
Scott Tobias at The Guardian: High Fidelity is the story of a self-centered jerk who learns to become less of a self-centered jerk.
Also, this: “One of the film’s most insightful and endearing qualities is how much it’s willing to poke fun at Rob, Barry, and Dick’s record-clerk arrogance without belittling their passions entirely.”
Love this movie.
Didn’t even try watching the new gender-crossed TV series. I am not offended by the gender-crossing. I do feel like the main character is a male archetype, and doesn’t work as a young woman. But if they can make it work, that’s cool.
It’s just the TV series did not look appealing to me. And the movie already exists – it is perfect as is, it cannot be improved.
His actual name is “Victor Von Doom.” Shouldn’t that have been kind of a red flag?
📷I saw this sign today on my walk. No, I have not got religion. I am still the same nonebelieving Jew I’ve always been. I just like the sign.
I have seen it a million times before but this is the first time I’ve really taken a second to look at it.
Saying the quiet part very loud, Trump admits “You’d never have a Republican elected in this country again” if voting access is expanded. - John Queally at Common Dreams
A Las Vegas farm feeds 4,000 pigs slops made from waste food from casinos. The farm is now struggling.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Tiana Bohner at Fox5 Las Vegas: “Pigs are a lot like us so they love sweets, candies, ice cream,” Las Vegas Livestock co-owner Hank Combs said. “They like meat and potatoes. They’re not a big fan of salads and produce, but they will eat it. On a normal day, the farm would get 20 tons of food from casinos and restaurants across the valley. Once the strip shut down and casinos closed, their food source was cut off….
Glice is building artificial skating rinks with plastic panels instead of ice
Monday, March 30, 2020
On Roofs or in Basements, a New Way to Ice Skate You can use Glice rinks year-round or in tropical climates. Alyson Krueger at the New York Times: Glice is arguably more ecologically conscious and certainly more convenient than traditional ice rinks, which require large amounts of water and electricity, as well as noisy, cumbersome machines including refrigeration systems and compressors. “In the past I worked for a hotel that had a traditional ice skating rink,” [said David Lemmond, general manager of the William Vale hotel, which has a Glice rink installed].