Corona Virus

[332nd]

1 hour ago, Paa Langfart said:

The next dozen years will belong to the folks that have actual hand skills and know how to do useful things like fix a car, farm/grow what ever, and medically help folk.  The day of the internet egghead who only knows how to program internet games and the like,  or talk sports and other non productive nonsense is probably over for the for seeable future.

No. Not unless there's a crash of the power grid. 

The "internet eggheads" are pulling us through this.

ETA: My FiL is one of rhose internet eggheads. He's the main reason I read & responded to this on my phone, & he can fix his truck just fine.

Edited April 23, 2020 by 332nd

[motocross_cat]

Ups is getting crushed with work right now.

[stirs]

8 minutes ago, 332nd said:

No. Not unless there's a crash of the power grid. 

The "internet eggheads" are pulling us through this.

ETA: My FiL is one of rhose internet eggheads. He's the main reason I read & responded to this on my phone, & he can fix his truck just fine.

More things are probably fixed today via "how to" videos on Youtube than ever before

[stirs]

2 minutes ago, motocross_cat said:

Ups is getting crushed with work right now.

Not a 50/50 proposition, but there are many things busting at the seams presently while others are at a crawl.

TP, food, sanitizers, etc along with all transportation are through the roof

[philit99]

4 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

I work in state government.  It's been bad financially for nearly a year now.  This pandemic is the final nail in the coffin so to speak.  I have a conference call tomorrow with Raleigh management and I'm expecting bad news for my employees and myself.

You should be ok as long as you are not part of the NCFAST project. What a cluster f*%k that program turned out to be.

[332nd]

8 minutes ago, stirs said:

More things are probably fixed today via "how to" videos on Youtube than ever before

Absolutely.

ETA: Hell, when my son was two I had him out in my wife's car while I was replacing her door handle, watching a how to video on my phone.

Then he started copying me & scratched the poo out of the other door. I had a flash of rage, then realized I didn't want to discourage him from learning so while I took a deep breath & counted to 10 I remembered when I scratched up my dad's '65 Mustang GT trying to "fix" the heads...

I opened my eyes & could've sworn I saw my dad's ghost running around the car laughing like hell & flipping me off.

Edited April 23, 2020 by 332nd

[Bytes]

1 hour ago, TheRumGone said:

Business is BOOMING for tech people. 

I read in the WSJ that tech is down 30% from the same time last year. I work in IT Healthcare. Elective surgeries are down 80%. 

[stirs]

18 minutes ago, 332nd said:

Absolutely.

ETA: Hell, when my son was two I had him out in my wife's car while I was replacing her door handle, watching a how to video on my phone.

Then he started copying me & scratched the poo out of the other door. I had a flash of rage, then realized I didn't want to discourage him from learning so while I took a deep breath & counted to 10 I remembered when I scratched up my dad's '65 Mustang GT trying to "fix" the heads...

I opened my eyes & could've sworn I saw my dad's ghost running around the car laughing like hell & flipping me off.

I watched youtube and put down hardwood floors in the bedrooms in my home.  Sometimes the visuals are worth way more than anything else.

[Jon Snow]

9 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I just know how it worked in the defense industry. Those contracts were agreed upon before the legislation was ever signed. One of the companies I repped for was under the L3 Technologies umbrella. That outfit was shady as FUG. They've since merged with Harris Corporation which if anything is even shadier, but they use that shadiness to rake in billions in government contracts.

There's corruption all over government.  That's just a fact of life sadly.   You will see news today about the DOT shortfall blaming it on the Covid-19 outback.  That is only a half truth.  The real truth is it was circling the bowl long before this outbreak due to mismanagement from the former Secretary and his minions.  That you will not hear them say.   But I digress.  Maybe for once our government will do something for the people instead of their friends.

[Wes21]

9 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

I agree to an extent, but there's many more professions that benefit from infrastructure spending than construction.  Construction is what you see at the end of the process.  The vast majority is the white collar workers that make construction possible.   That's the part the public doesn't see.

Absolutely.  Restaurants, hotels, housing, car dealerships, airports and many others also benefit whenever there is a large construction project going on.

9 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Retail is gonna get crushed. They were already badly struggling to compete against ecommerce and this will likely be the death blow for many of them. Unfortunately, retail jobs make up about 12% our total jobs.

I think there will always be a place for retailers because people want instant gratification instead of having to wait for stuff to arrive by mail.  In that light I think the "click & pull" stuff is going to explode in this country.  We just got an IKEA here in town a few years ago, and they were already expanding their curbside pickup section because the demand for it was so high.  And that was before the virus, where I think people are getting used to doing it and liking it.  I can definitely see a scenario where the number of retailers goes way down, and those that survive have a smaller footprint.  I can also see retailers consolidating and working together.  Wal-Marts will survive and become a dominant player in the brick and mortar section.  I'm trying to figure out what happens to the others.  

9 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

They same infrastructure bill that we've heard about for nearly 4 years now?  There's no way the House will let Trump get that through before the election.  Not trying to turn this political but if you are being honest with yourself you know it's true.

Unfortunately there is some truth to this.  What will most likely happen is they will agree to the terms of the plan, but then sink it with poison pills.  Then they will run to the nearest microphone and say "the other party just voted against infrastructure, but we were totally for it!"

[Wes21]

8 hours ago, stirs said:

I watched youtube and put down hardwood floors in the bedrooms in my home.  Sometimes the visuals are worth way more than anything else.

I replaced the sunroof in my truck, using youtube as my guide.  It was crazy.  There were lots of videos to choose from, but the one I watched was an hour long.  He cut some of the fat out, but for the most part showed every single step screw by screw and even gave insight into "what to do" if you have or don't have a helper/certain tool in your bag.  

[Devil Doc]

11 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I just know how it worked in the defense industry. Those contracts were agreed upon before the legislation was ever signed. One of the companies I repped for was under the L3 Technologies umbrella. That outfit was shady as FUG. They've since merged with Harris Corporation which if anything is even shadier, but they use that shadiness to rake in billions in government contracts.

Defense contracts, contracts through GSA, and others are still booming. The problem is, when will the fulfill them? 

[stirs]

World is upside down, haha.  Grasping at straws.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8246939/French-researchers-plan-nicotine-patches-coronavirus-patients-frontline-workers.html

"running to get a pack of camels"

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm honestly glad I'm not in governors' shoes right now to make these calls, but I understand why there's such a push to reopen economies right now. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't right now. Reopen too soon and you'll create a second wave. Don't reopen soon enough and you've recreated the Great Depression.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-recession-turning-into-the-great-depression-ii-amid-job-losses-141615099.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bad-might-think-great-depression-110009141.html

What we really need is a widespread testing program with contact tracing and for people to actually adhere to social distancing guidelines, wear masks, and wash their damn hands. But vaguely understanding the stupidity of the average person, good luck with that.