COVID has changed me

ProDarwin said:

bobzilla said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

sorry, you weren't very clear with the numbers. I see 686/1M I'm going to assume that it's total population. I'm guessing the 1M is positive cases? Also keep in mind they only tested 160k of their 23M population(.0001% of their pop). We have tested just shy of 80M of our 330M (24% of our pop) population. Once again, statistics suck because everyone is doing it differently. This is what I'm trying to point out. How do we determine what is accurate?

US:  686 deaths per 1M population,  Taiwan: 0.3 deaths per 1M population

They tested less because they didn't need to test more.  Robust contact tracing = you only test those at risk, which was very few due to their response.

 

I don't care much if this thread goes off topic a bit (all of them do), but I don't want to see it locked so I wont take this any further.  This could easily take a turn toward patio territory.

 

One other caveat, many of our tests were repeat tests - i.e. hospital workers getting tested everyday. 

In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :

I think we're saying a lot of the same things just talking around each other. with everyone doing something different, be it testing, positives, recording etc it's going to be really hard to actually have a clear cut take away from it. What worked for island nations doesn't necessarily work for landlocked nations with open-ish borders (EU, US etc). Population densities, civil rights and protections etc all make them more difficult to compare. 

I read an article last week that was showing how vitamin D production and different skin tones can have a varying affect on the outcomes once infected. IT's going to be a long time before all this settles down and I HOPE that the politics get dropped. Nothing good happens when it turns political.

One thing I certainly hope changes is our insistence on larger class sizes in more consonsildated schools. 

I wish we'd go back to a more community oriented school setup where kids can walk to school, teachers only have 20 or less students per calss, etc. 

Unfortunately, this will likely fly over the heads of those who have long been advocating for public school budget cuts. Nor will it really sink in with regional planners (every new subdivision should either have a lot zoned for a school, or a school nearby.)

We had a meeting with our Senior Vice President of Product Management this morning and received some interesting feedback:

1. He thinks many of us are working TOO MUCH. He said based on the productivity he's seeing, he thinks we aren't taking enough time for our families and ourselves in this new world we find ourselves in. Since this started we have been encouraged to work different hours, less hours, etc.

2. Many are already asking about staying home full-time even once the offices do open back up. And it sounds that may really become a discussion next year for some people.

3. We have no official word from people higher up than him, but he suspects the offices won't be open until there is a proven, safe vaccine. 

I chatted with my boss after the meeting for a bit. I think I could handle WFH full-time once things go back to a normal a bit. Where we can go interact with friends and family more, go see comedy shows and music, not feel bad about going out for dinner etc. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Please stop. This is unproductive. It's why the other thread was shut down. 
 

I started this to try to be a little transparent, and an encouragement. 
 

Arguing about "shoulda, coulda" will never be an encouragement. And there will never be agreement or changed hearts. It's just finger pointing.

My fingers are pointed squarely at me. I have changed. Not all of it is good. I am responsible.
 

Thank you. 

Well said.  
I've been careful to talk only about me and what I've done or changed. 
It's a bit me, me, me.  But it's not controversial.  

In reply to z31maniac :

I know my wife's Bank ( where she works) is so pleased with productivity they  canceled   all ideas of bringing most employees back in.  ( That's  a 180 degree change from just 1 year ago.          Those that can work from home have increased productivity 41% and decreased costs 23%.  
  The only issue now is what to do with all that expensive real estate.  If they dump it on the market  that will dramatically depress prices and may lead to severe repercussions. If they wait to dispose of it, they will likely get less than its valued at.  
This on top of dramatically reduced interest rates. Has Banks scrambling. 

     There is a systemic change taking place right under our noses.  The good news is office politics is less likely. Sexual harassment is less likely. Employee costs are reduced, lower transportation costs. Lower clothing costs, grooming costs.  Effectively giving the employees a raise without costing the company anything.   In addition Company costs will be reduced. 
What will be done with all the empty office spaces?  Downtown Shopping is all but dead at least at major department stores. That's a lot of space!!!! 

Converted to Condo's?   Retirement homes for the baby boomers? 

In reply to pheller :

thats something the wife and I have been talking about for years now

pheller said:

Nor will it really sink in with regional planners (every new subdivision should either have a lot zoned for a school, or a school nearby.)

I think every home in any suburban area should be within walking distance of a public school via walking paths.  At least through elementary school.  

Larger schools make sense was kids get older and you can offer specialized things like 8 different languages and whatnot - that level of specialization isn't going to be available at the small neighborhood level.

I do think that this has opened a lot of eyes about how remote technology can improve BOTH productivity AND quality of life.  The old school dbelief that no work happens if you're not in the office hasn't been dealt a death-blow yet, but it's sure as heck been badly wounded.

Working in manufacturing means I've been back at work in person since early June, hard to do a lot of what we do from home. But there are a lot more Zoom meetings and calls with vendors and such that are just as effective as flying their dumb asses all over the country. 

I'm one of about 5 people in the building that wears a mask. I do notice that my personal tendency to walk away from someone who disagrees with me rather than try and convince them has increased. I'm not sure it's a good thing. If you want to tell my my mask doesn't work, or you have a medical condition that means you can't wear a mask, or this pandemic was caused by the 5G (it's always "the" 5G...) then I don't have any use for you. I'm not spending time arguing or trying to talk about the science of it, I just leave. That level of complete dismissal of a person based on one small aspect of their personality probably isn't good. 

So this thread has me doing some self evaluation.

1. I enjoy not shaking hands.
2. I don't mind physical distancing when talking to people or just being around people.
3. I feel more connected to my co workers.
4. I sometimes don't even notice the type/color mask someone is wearing. 
5. I am hyper sensitive with my kids making or getting space when they go out. 
6. I am connecting to my extended family more.
7. I am happier when I get to cook. So I am happier nowadays.
8. I stay quieter now when out. Like not even saying excuse me as often as I worry the other person will be offended. I just wait for them to move. Patience?
9. I don't feel as frazzled tackling house issues, cracked drain, rewire ceiling light, fix toilet flush links, or wifi getting weird.
10. I am less connected to any of my kids classmates' parents which isn't fun. But I am more at ease when we can talk.
11. I really enjoy watching how restaurants have had to develop and or redevelop their online presence and apps. It really piqued my interest to see how the apps evolved in the past few months. I even started studying how apps are made, major players in that market etc.

In reply to Advan046 :

So off your list:

1.) I'm OK shaking or not shaking hands. 

2.) I always kept an appropriate distance from people just because I'm from the midwest and crowding people is rude. 

3.) I was much less connected to co-workers because they were working remotely doing half of their job most days leaving the rest for myself and the 2 other people that came in each day.

4.) I can't understand people wearing masks so conversations dont exist now. That really sucks because I'm a chatty person.

5.) I don't have kids, but I'm not hypersenstive about any of it. Maybe I Was sensitve a few months ago, but fatigue has worn my "give a E36 M3s" down.

6.) Extended family falls into one of two categories: This is hyper real and you will DIE if you do anything or it's a crock of crap and the politicos have made it blah blah blah...

7.) I do all the cooking, and it's fine 4-6 days a week, but I get tired of it week in and week out. 

8.) I was always quiet when around strangers unless they wanted to talk. 

9.) I get more frazzled and frustrated with house work because its "just one more thing" on my list of crap I gotta do.

10 and 11 don't pertain to me and I hate cold soggy fries and sides which is what takeout means for us. 

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm one of about 5 people in the building that wears a mask. I do notice that my personal tendency to walk away from someone who disagrees with me rather than try and convince them has increased. I'm not sure it's a good thing. If you want to tell my my mask doesn't work, or you have a medical condition that means you can't wear a mask, or this pandemic was caused by the 5G (it's always "the" 5G...) then I don't have any use for you. I'm not spending time arguing or trying to talk about the science of it, I just leave. That level of complete dismissal of a person based on one small aspect of their personality probably isn't good. 

Why would that not be good? I am tired of the polarization and sick of arguing. I find myself avoiding people who don't agree with me on the mask issue and I am a lot happier for it. I don't want to be around them and I don't understand why if they disagree so strongly that they want to be around me either. I do miss daily dog park trips and weekend car events but not enough to risk my life and others. The noise to signal ratio in public discourse right now is way out of whack. I would actually be quite happy to move out into the middle of the desert right now with my wife and dogs and just stay as far away from everyone else as possible. And I might even just want to stay there even if and after Covid is ever cured. Distancing yourself from crazy in this environment is the only way to stay sane. 

In reply to Snowdoggie :

Agreed.  I've re-evaluated a lot of my relationships and have greatly curtailed the amount of time I choose to spend around folks who just seem to be energy vampires.

I'm spending a lot more time outdoors and away from social media, and just that feels like the mental health equivalent of kicking a smoking habit.  

On a side note, you would think car insurance would go way down to the reduced amount of commuters these days.

In reply to Placemotorsports :

Except many of the ones still driving seem to be working overtime to keep the daily accident rate up.   Maybe the traffic volume was keeping them more hemmed in before.  We've been back full time since mid May,  I witness some seriously stupid E36 M3 on a daily basis and it's happening at much higher speeds than before.   Driving in the dark soon will help that I'm sure.

Placemotorsports said:

On a side note, you would think car insurance would go way down to the reduced amount of commuters these days.

I receieved a $200 credit from State Farm due to the reduced number of claims they had in the state.

I generally shake hands and miss doing so though at work we've mostly bumped fists for years, since the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s and against our company's policy many of us still do.  A funny side story in about 2005 or so we had a company roadeo, basically a skills competition and barbecue.  It fell on my birthday so I brought a lot of family. My sister in law was fascinated at how we greated each other, and went home to tell everyone that I went around fisting my coworkers.  My brother in law almost passed out from laughing, then had to explain fisting to my mother in law. It remains one of the funniest things I've sat through in my life. 
 

As far as organizations learning lessons our people in every department have been studying everything possible and coming up with plans and procedures. Most of the people I interact with at other agencies are doing the same. If this doesn't go away any time soon we are now well prepared to deal with it and anything else that may come along behind it. 

Have not changed

Advan046 said:

So this thread has me doing some self evaluation.

 

1. I really enjoy watching how restaurants have had to develop and or redevelop their online presence and apps. It really piqued my interest to see how the apps evolved in the past few months. I even started studying how apps are made, major players in that market etc.

I've noticed many more restaurants using social media and what used to be other FOH staff to do their own deliveries.

I've also noticed Postmates/Uber Eats/Door Dash, all pinging me much more often about free delivery or X amount off........I'm hoping it's because their volume is going from people ordering from the restaurants for take out. 

Those companies really screw over the restaurants when it comes to fees. The only time we use them now is if say it's Friday/Saturday evening and we've had a few drinks so going to pickup at the restaurant isn't an option.

Placemotorsports said:

On a side note, you would think car insurance would go way down to the reduced amount of commuters these days.

Mine did, surprisingly. Not a ton, but hey man, $20 is $20.

My insurance  with State Farm has gone down some. 

I agree there's nothing wrong with not feeding the trolls in real life, my worry is that I immediately write off that person as a complete waste of oxygen on this planet. Like I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, and that's not the right attitude. That's the kind of outlook that puts society in the place we are now. 

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:

My insurance  with State Farm has gone down some. 

I agree there's nothing wrong with not feeding the trolls in real life, my worry is that I immediately write off that person as a complete waste of oxygen on this planet. Like I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, and that's not the right attitude. That's the kind of outlook that puts society in the place we are now. 

I'm not really sure that staying away from people who want to keep arguing or changing direction when somebody approaches me without a mask on means that I think they are a complete waste of oxygen. It just means I don't want to be around them right now. Just quietly walking away from somebody is more productive than screaming at somebody who is screaming at you or indulging somebody who is going out looking for a fight. Getting away from people in general when things are going crazy is a good thing too. The quiet allows you to wind down. This 24/7 news cycle social media connection every second of our lives is what keeps people so wound up. Sometimes you just have to unplug. 

In reply to z31maniac :

I never have used any delivery service other than Dominos Pizza. I prefer to go pick up my food and I used to leave a small tip for takeout but now leave a hefty one in this current pandemic. I don't use Uber food, grub hut, or smash dash. Their service is not valuable enough for me to spend a penny on them. 

I was more postig about how the Chinese restaurant had a windows 3.2.2 level ordering on line webpage and quickly transitioned now to apple and android apps and then switched companies after a month and built an even better one. This is all for carryout not delivery. 

That surge of finances for app development is interesting. 

I’m sorry to hear about your dad SVreX and sorry to hear about Jodi Wally. 

Advan046 said:

I was more postig about how the Chinese restaurant had a windows 3.2.2 level ordering on line webpage and quickly transitioned now to apple and android apps and then switched companies after a month and built an even better one. This is all for carryout not delivery. 

I enjoy watching the innovation all over the place.  There are so few industries that don't have an opportunity to innovate because of this.

Local to me grocery store chain had a big opportunity to do something about its online ordering, but failed hard :(

Chik-Fil-A dominated the other local fast food places because it increased its drive-thru capacity like crazy.

Some restaraunts expanded bigly on sidewalks and the city even closes down streets weekly for outdoor dining.  One street I kind of wish they would block off all the time honestly.

We have several drive-in movies now similar to what was mentioned earlier in the thread.

Those are all food related.  But there are many other examples I'm sure in any industry which has workers and/or customers that are close together or face to face.