Nerd Pride Radio

A place to talk and share about our experiences and worries and breaking news.

I'm worried that people aren't taking this seriously enough. If you're sick or at risk- please stay home. In my office, one lawyer got back from Japan four days ago and came to the office like nothing was going on. Another lawyer showed up yesterday with a fever. What is wrong with you people. This is how Italy got to where it is. Let's use some common sense.

I take note whenever I feel all the feels. Like "Inside Out" feels. And I did around 11pm last night talking with my wife.

Fear - of course fear. My default emotion, though I'm working on that, but makes some sense here. So many unknowns. So many scary knowns. I might feel better once testing meets the need. Which leads to
Anger and Disgust - at those who dropped the ball on testing and containment and those who exude misinformation. Though I temper that, because I feel now is not the time. That time will come though, to really scream at failed leaders.
Sadness - Tears at stories heard, at those struggling, to those who've died, and those who will sadly die. Families who will be affected forever. Tears for those whose lives and livelihoods are destroyed.
Joy - occasional joy. Joy in the moment, of having my family and friends and coworkers doing ok. Inspired by the heroes everywhere. Thank you everyone on the front lines of this and behind the scenes, and those exerting caution and protection for public safety and health, even if it means taking a financial hit. Thank you for those holding society together and protect those most vulnerable.

To be honest with you I pray for his safety through this because if anything goes wrong with that man's health before the election, his supporters already think that this entire pandemic is a libtard hoax. It has been bizarre to watch the gender dynamic at play here, where the MAGA women are nervous and into hand-washing and trying to stay away from people who might be sick, and the men are calling them idiots for believing the lies of the lamestream media. I really don't know how people went through the fairly decent school system we have in this country and have ended up this stupid, in a way that is particularly self-harming.

Other OCD things: Trying to do the normal things in your day while your brain decides it's important to repeatedly and intrusively re-rehearse the terrible hour in your life when you had to be forcibly intubated while vomiting, just in case you might need to be intubated while conscious after contracting a virus, and thinking it through will help you be ready to cooperate! Lol. Then you think about your parents semi-conscious and unable to breathe and being forcibly intubated... Maybe you have already seen them for the last time without even knowing it. Maybe I will never see my parents again. Will they be left to die alone? How will my children know how to get access to the money they inherit when my spouse and I both die? What if no adults are left to help them? Why do websites keep telling me to wash my hands after touching my dog? Am I going to infect my dog? The cats? Am I going to spread the virus to other people who pet my dog? Do people realize that I pet my dog somewhere around 400 times a day because we are attached at the hip?

Maryland public schools are closing for 2 weeks starting Monday.

Some major employers where I am have already banned foreign travel but are now also requiring people to self-quarantine for 14 days after any domestic travel, even without symptoms, and every domestic travel has to be approved on an emergency only basis (e.g. attend a funeral of an immediate family member). The people making these decisions are very prudent, very smart, and being advised by epidemiologists. It all brings home the reality that they are bracing for a month of exponential spread, and they're all coordinating measures to slow it down. Thank God local people are listening to experts and we don't have to depend exclusively on national entities to get their act together.

Our university banned all official air travel for the next month (enforced by not reimbursing it). Other places are doing similar things. Spring academic conferences should either cancel or be online only as they are going to be very sparsely attended.

Work from home, avoid direct contact with people, don't travel, avoid large crowds. It's like my ideal life has been mandated for everyone.

My wife has been a stay-at-home mom since our oldest was born over 23 years ago, and I've been an IT consultant that primarily works from home for the past almost 9 years. We've pretty much been practicing social distancing for almost 9 years, so this won't been too much of a change for us.

The main question for me is where to draw the line between hype and head-in-the-sand.

On the one hand nobody wants to see this thing wreak havoc and kill people...

On the other hand over-reacting can cause horrible things too.

At church our friend, who is a GP, made an effort to reassure and instruct people.

Keep to yourselves as much as possible. Wash frequently. Use hand sanitizer.

We have foregone the shaking of hands.

I think the passing of the offering plate should go as well.

My sister, who is a dental hygienist and a dental hygiene instructor at her local college, is sick and is pretty certain she has been exposed to the virus. She's young and healthy, so she should be fine. But she is one of my two siblings that still lives near our parents, so she'll have to stay isolated from them for a few weeks at least.

Meanwhile, our local Catholic diocese has announced that they are getting rid of the obligation to attend mass on Sundays and holy days, and reminding everyone that you are only required to receive communion once a year during the Easter season, so even if you do attend mass, you do not need to receive communion. My parents, who are in their late 70s, meanwhile, are still going to daily mass and running errands. They stopped drinking the wine as mass, but I told them they should stop taking communion altogether. Dad said he'd stop going to mass if there was an increase in coughing, but I said that's already too late, since the latest information I saw indicated patients could be infectious up to 2 days before showing any symptoms.

All of the schools I work at have started their Spring Breaks early, and also extended them. (I'm up to 6 canceled gigs.) I'm thinking that I should maybe also cancel my private teaching for next week. Just because I don't know if I am infected or any of my students have been. After a week, I can see if myself or any one of my students is exhibiting symptoms and then go from there.

I think I'm also going to see which of my students are capable of having remote lessons, and maybe have a 'remote teaching' day. I'm not sure the best way to go about this. It's very weird.

7.

I’m about to go to the grocery store. I hope it’s not too much of a “Lord of the Flies” situation.