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How has COVID-19 impacted you?

I practice mostly small business and bankruptcy law. The storm is gathering for lots of my clients right now - many of whom are shut down entirely because of the shelter in place orders. The other lawyers in my building are not coming into the office and I am literally the only one here. It's eerie.

For those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook you have seen that I have put a bunch of stuff, basically free legal advice, on my website. Feel free to take a look at that information as there is stuff on there for nearly all of us. I am not looking to drum up business, it's just what I see as a public service at this point in time.

When I do work from home it's great to smoke a nice cigar as a way to tamp down the nerves. I could get really used to staying in my smoking room and practicing law! Maybe that's my new normal.
 
punk_lawyer said:
I could get really used to staying in my smoking room and practicing law! Maybe that's my new normal.
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Pitch it to Michael Connelly. I see a whole series of novels based on this. Maybe there could even be a Mickey Haller crossover. Titus Welliver could play you in the movie (take THAT, Amazon Prime!). You'd never have to work another day in your life...

Seriously, though, that's great that you are putting up the legal advice. It's horrible how this is going to wipe out so many small businesses through no fault of their own. Sounds like you are working hard for your clients, which they will need more than ever.
 
The PPP is a joke for us... less than 10 percent of our monthly expenses is payroll, however the way they configure it is... 75 percent payroll expenses and 25 percent for everything else... Ridiculous!
 
Humans have always been, to some degree, irrational. The level fluctuates with set and setting, but not much.

I took a history class at U of D years ago called, "The history of witchcraft". I thought it would be a cake course to "balance" Calc, Org Chem, etc, but it wasn't. Quite interesting, in fact.

Some towns in France burned a third of their population at the stake. Of course, it was a convenient way to seek revenge, eliminate competition, and for less rational motives. It didn't end until the judges started being accused of witchcraft.

The western world has been moving towards more irrational behavior for a long time. Some of this may be organic but some has been engineered. Forced government schooling being a good example of the later. The systematic destruction of journalism into a parody of itself is another. Our own consumerism is a partly unavoidable outcome of our inherent flaws coupled with the abundance liberty made possible.

I think the "irrationally index" went down (got better) in the west around the time of the revolt leading to the birth of our country. A bit. If you read 19th century American literature and the writings of Jefferson and Adams you find it was temporary and localized. To be fair, this was a radical undertaking and they rose to the challenge.

Where would you put the index now? Destroying the world economy to prevent less than the yearly total of flu deaths is irrational. Deploying armed enforcement to shut down a family birthday party is irrational. Shutting people in their homes for "health" is irrational. People acquiescing to this enmass is irrational.

We have that index pegged, pedal to the metal. We are already experiencing the analog to "BURN THE WITCH!".

THEY ARE BEING HUMAN! ARREST THEM!
 
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Again, as I'm sure has been stated repeatedly, the distinction between COVID-19 and regular influenza is the ability for people to harbor the virus with no signs of infection. Without the social distancing guidelines and isolation the virus would be able to spread like wildfire and then we would likely see far more infections/deaths. The guidelines are in place to try to control this from being far worse than a flu bug. The quicker we go through this, the quicker we can get the rebound on the other side started.

I guess it's like trying to go back to work before you're fully recovered from a cold. You put yourself and your coworkers at risk and can easily spread the cold. Best to stay away and come back when you're truly ready. Just my thoughts.
 
CigSid said:
The PPP is a joke for us... less than 10 percent of our monthly expenses is payroll, however the way they configure it is... 75 percent payroll expenses and 25 percent for everything else... Ridiculous!
Click to expand...

Yep. Same here. Reading stats in my industry that say 3% of all independently owned restaurants have already closed permanently. Projecting 10% in 30 days. Heck, I was listening to a podcast with a franchisee who I've worked with in my day job before. (forgot to add, his company is the 17th largest in the country... and they were having an incredible year before covid... so they were particularly flush with cash). They own 287 restaurants (mostly Applebees and Panera Bread) and even after cutting the CEO salary completely, furlowing half the corporate staff and cutting salary by 50% for the rest, negotiating new deals with every single property manager, and reducing hours and closing stores, they've got 60-90 days of runway. And with over 500 employees, the PPP does nothing for them.

When the average privately owned restaurant has roughly 14 days of cashflow reserve on hand, and when even the really good and really big operators/corporations can barely manage 3 months of runway... i'm guessing a quarter or more of the industry at large is at risk of bankruptcy or closure.

On the plus side, if I survive, I'm really going to enjoy negotiating my new rental contract with my own property manager... :D
 
Wife was going to be furloughed this next week… It actually would’ve worked out great considering the kids are being passed around to grandparents because we both have to work. Now she just called me and told me that they are letting her stay at work but not giving her a choice about where to work and now she is in the Covid floor at the hospital for the entirety of this current situation. They are not even giving her the option to go back to being one of the physical therapist to be furloughed....well fuck
 
Thoughts said:
Wife was going to be furloughed this next week… It actually would’ve worked out great considering the kids are being passed around to grandparents because we both have to work. Now she just called me and told me that they are letting her stay at work but not giving her a choice about where to work and now she is in the Covid floor at the hospital for the entirety of this current situation. They are not even giving her the option to go back to being one of the physical therapist to be furloughed....well fuck
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Oh, shit... If it's something you all would be interested in doing, there's a website I can find for you that has set up a network of folks all around the country donating their RVs, pop-ups, etc., to medpros to use at their place to self-quarantine out of direct contact with family members.

*EDIT*

jalopnik.com

Owners Are Offering Their Empty RVs To Medical Staff During Coronavirus Fight

While Facebook might not be known for doing much good in this world, a group of RV owners are helping to make a difference in the lives of those on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com

www.facebook.com

RVs 4 MDs To Fight Natural disasters! | Facebook

Thank you all for your interest!🎉 This group is for those needing a housing during natural disasters or health crisis situations!
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
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vortex said:
Humans have always been, to some degree, irrational. The level fluctuates with set and setting, but not much.

I took a history class at U of D years ago called, "The history of witchcraft". I thought it would be a cake course to "balance" Calc, Org Chem, etc, but it wasn't. Quite interesting, in fact.

Some towns in France burned a third of their population at the stake. Of course, it was a convenient way to seek revenge, eliminate competition, and for less rational motives. It didn't end until the judges started being accused of witchcraft.

The western world has been moving towards more irrational behavior for a long time. Some of this may be organic but some has been engineered. Forced government schooling being a good example of the later. The systematic destruction of journalism into a parody of itself is another. Our own consumerism is a partly unavoidable outcome of our inherent flaws coupled with the abundance liberty made possible.

I think the "irrationally index" went down (got better) in the west around the time of the revolt leading to the birth of our country. A bit. If you read 19th century American literature and the writings of Jefferson and Adams you find it was temporary and localized. To be fair, this was a radical undertaking and they rose to the challenge.

Where would you put the index now? Destroying the world economy to prevent less than the yearly total of flu deaths is irrational. Deploying armed enforcement to shut down a family birthday party is irrational. Shutting people in their homes for "health" is irrational. People acquiescing to this enmass is irrational.

We have that index pegged, pedal to the metal. We are already experiencing the analog to "BURN THE WITCH!".

THEY ARE BEING HUMAN! ARREST THEM!
Click to expand...
Some of us are descendants of people who have been colonized, etc. in the name of liberty and justice. We have been used to being labeled as “witches” “injuns” “niggers” because we chose to live our lives and not confirm or assimilate. Perfectly normal part of our story includes being arrested, or murdered because we celebrated life. Yes many of us are educated via mandated public schools and other systems of control, however, in order to learn true history, we have had to educate ourselves from outside the mandated doctrine. The systems aren’t failing. They’re functioning just as designed. Remember, liberty and justice was never intended for all. Now we are all here, trying to survive, and make the best. Some of us are accustomed to surviving and getting by, now, we are all needing to do so. To be honest, I have been politely surprised by the good in humanity that has shined, I am however skeptical that government or politics are going to bring any remedy or sustainable solution. Too many egos get hurt, we easily focus on what makes us different, as opposed to what we have in common. We all want a better tomorrow, we squander away too much time bickering on how to create it.
Be well,
Love those you care about.
Take care of what is truly important.
 
Well, still have a job currently, which I am very thankful for as the alternative would be painful, but found out will have reduced pay for awhile. Not sure how that's going to work. I'm sure I can make ends meet, but not sure whats up next if this keeps pressing on. Each day is a new day though, and I am hearing more positive news than before, I just don't know how much I trust it.
 
Its been about a week and a half and Ohio has seen some drastic reductions in the our modeling and local hospital systems are asking volunteers to head to New York, Jersey and Michigan. We aren't out of the woods yet, but from what I've read online other locations are releasing staff and equipment to help those areas struggling as well. We have not run out of PPE yet and I don't know that we will provide we continue to reuse our N-95s.

From a department standpoint we have had a total of 10 members (out of around 360) test positive. I believe 4 are currently back to work and the bulk of the rest should be returning next week. The quarantine story is pretty similar; if an employee was around someone with a positive test, they were place on Paid-Admin Leave and asked to quarantine at home or the City ran center for the duration. I think most of guys will be back this coming week.

From those who tested positive, that I talked to, they describe being tired for a day or two with an associated fever, then a couple of days of mild cough and persistent head aches. Age range was from early 30s to mid 50's. I previously mentioned that one of my good friends contracted it and he is the upper age limit and doing okay. I've taken him food a couple of times and generally harassed him, calling him "Typhoid Bernie". Everyone is pretty grateful that no one has been too sick.

I wanted to touch on a little bit of what @CMontoya79 said about the good in humanity. At lot of the census tracts my station responds to are well below the poverty line, and even under the best circumstances, life can be struggle for them. We have experienced a rash of citizens dropping off rolls of toilet paper, wipes, water, bread, etc... and many local restaurants are providing meals to Stations throughout the City. Local organizations have been dropping off food and supplies at Emergency Rooms, the local food bank is experience record demand but has been getting a steady stream of donations, business have partnered together to make sure at risk populations have access to food and medicine.. Its almost like people are discovering what it means to be a "Community" again.
 
CMontoya79 said:
Some of us are descendants of people who have been colonized, etc. in the name of liberty and justice. We have been used to being labeled as “witches” “injuns” “niggers” because we chose to live our lives and not confirm or assimilate. Perfectly normal part of our story includes being arrested, or murdered because we celebrated life. Yes many of us are educated via mandated public schools and other systems of control, however, in order to learn true history, we have had to educate ourselves from outside the mandated doctrine. The systems aren’t failing. They’re functioning just as designed. Remember, liberty and justice was never intended for all. Now we are all here, trying to survive, and make the best. Some of us are accustomed to surviving and getting by, now, we are all needing to do so. To be honest, I have been politely surprised by the good in humanity that has shined, I am however skeptical that government or politics are going to bring any remedy or sustainable solution. Too many egos get hurt, we easily focus on what makes us different, as opposed to what we have in common. We all want a better tomorrow, we squander away too much time bickering on how to create it.
Be well,
Love those you care about.
Take care of what is truly important.
Click to expand...
There will be no tomorrow for tens of millions of Americans. There will be no freedom for those who survive unless we disobey our presumed owners. But I do agree that we have to drop our preconceived notions of government being a force for good. Never was and never will be. The founders warned us repeatedly, "Don't trust those assholes for a moment!"

www.minds.com

A Letter to the Future | Minds

by James Corbettcorbettreport.comApril 11, 2020“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”—...
www.minds.com www.minds.com
 
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vortex said:
There will be no tomorrow for tens of millions of Americans. There will be no freedom for those who survive unless we disobey our presumed owners. But I do agree that we have to drop our preconceived notions of government being a force for good. Never was and never will be. The founders warned us repeatedly, "Don't trust those assholes for a moment!"

www.minds.com

A Letter to the Future | Minds

by James Corbettcorbettreport.comApril 11, 2020“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”—...
www.minds.com www.minds.com
Click to expand...
I’ll agree partially with the government distrust. A healthy skepticism is always a good thing, but what we are seeing is what happens when inept “officials” are making decisions. I’ve also witnessed what happens locally and nationally when competent leaders are in charge of making decisions. Typically, the most important choices made are those that locally will have a direct impact on you and those you love. We spend way too much time bickering, when we all just want a better tomorrow. Peace be with you and one love to all the B/SOTL here.
 
I actually got a cut prior to all this happening so today was the first day I felt the need for a little trim. Now I’ve done some wild stuff back in the day, and I’ve been threatening to just cut it all off and shave...but I look in the mirror and know just how bad that would look..so I give up.

But I also can’t see running back to the barber right away after all this is done either..
 
I usually get a haircut every 3-4 weeks, but my last one was right before I left for a business trip on Feb 20. My hair hasn't been this long since I was 18!
 
I went the opposite of the caveman route and shaved my beard off under quarantine. Or, as I like to call this quarantine hysteria in my life: "Just Another Tuesday". It was getting hard to eat, and my mustache was burning whenever I'd get about midway through the final third of a cigar. So, it was time to go. I don't let my beard grow out because it's fashionable these days, or because it's supposed to be "manly". It's just that sometimes I shave... and sometimes I don't. That's really all there is to it, and it strikes me as crazy that so many people around me read much further into my facial hair than need be. :/

I've been cutting my own hair for a few years, now. I fought hard for as long as I could, but I eventually had to concede that Nature had won. I was not going to be "that guy" who couldn't let go. I just grab the clippers sans-guard, and run it over my dome a few times, making sure that I don't miss any little sprouts; that's as bad as letting your thinning hair go for too long and not admitting to yourself that the battle is lost. I actually did the math a while back, and I've saved literally thousands of dollars in cigar money (I mean, uhhhh... savings) over the years by not having to spend money on a haircut every week. It may not be pretty, but neither am I.
 
No way i could pick a top 10. I would have to have one top 10 for every genre, then select 10 from there.
 
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