Grocery store observations: Toilet Paper and Paper Towels available but not ~Kleenex. Popcorn gone. Peanut butter and bread gone (except some crappy stuff). Otherwise ample supplies. Customers wearing masks and gloves. Employees wearing neither.
Well, volunteers in my area’s emergency radio groups got a meeting notice today. I thought it would just be a general comms check but instead it was an official notice we’re to be on standby. It’s prudent the precaution is being taken now. Sobering too.
Oh and puzzle #4 is now complete.
I posted this 1 year ago today - and it applies 1000x more now than then!
This Financial Times Headline cracked me up this morning: April Fool’s Day Cancelled Due To Current State of Reality
The school announced today that the kids will not be graded in the normal way for the remainder of the school year. Teachers will basically use their judgement to assign a score of 0 (didn’t turn anything in at all) to a 4. No GPAs. It’s pretty subjective. 🤔 🏫
I have to wonder what the heck Amazon’s algorithms/execs are doing. I ordered a few new books for the 11 year old and they’re already arriving today. These were not life critical yet more important stuff can’t get through their warehouse ?!?
Hope
In other news, it just dawned on me that Dark Sky is closing their API and I use that API in several projects. At least they gave a lot of heads up so I have time to change my code to another source. ☁️
I gotta admit the shelter in place thing already feels quite old and I’m antsy.
Also, I wore thin latex gloves when I went to the grocery store last time. I’m trying to decide if I should wear my non-N95 face mask next time? It’s meant for pollen, mold, dirt in the air, etc.
Well, it’s official. The governor ordered schools closed until May 4th (at least). The grand home learning experiment continues. 🏫
Well now. I did not see this coming! Dark Sky will become an Apple exclusive.
Amazon has been able to source/deliver most things I’ve searched for. But at least they can still deliver some books for the 11 yo.
Seeing all the food and kitchen essentials that are out or in short supply at grocery stores, where is the stuff the restaurants would normally be consuming sitting and why can’t it be made available? Some restaurants are selling pre-packaged foods but that’s not useful. 🤷🏻♂️
Home learning week 2: The teachers sent out a survey last week asking for feedback on how long each assignment was taking and for general comments. Apparently a lot felt the assignments were taking too much time because this week’s are considerably shorter. 🏫
Solved COVID-19 puzzle #3.
Note front page of today’s WSJ talks about a huge jump in jigsaw puzzle sales and of course a shortage.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in our county declined markedly this weekend. From 31 on Friday, to 11 on Saturday and 6 today. I’d like to be happy about this but I think a lot of tests sites just aren’t reporting this weekend. And 4 of 6 cases today are in the hospital.🦠
We took what seems to now be our weekly drive today. Last weekend the countryside we drove through was pretty busy - it seemed like a normal weekend. But today, on a different route, the countryside was deserted. Highway was busy as usual though. Life goes on. 🚙
The isolation routine is tiring for us. My wife and I both find we are sleepy during the day for no particular reason. I guess it is added fatigue from worrying about the progression of the pandemic and the economic consequences for everyone.
My el cheapo DIY 20m dipole antenna made with scrap plexiglass and speaker wire has proven itself. During my first time using it I made contact with a guy in Japan, >6k miles. I’m going to order a few cheap parts to create a more weather proof version.
Home learning week 1: Both our kids seems to be doing fine. The teen’s work is graded daily but their have been no grades yet on our son’s work. Each has their own routine to keep themselves on track. They like sleeping in but I can tell they’re missing their school friends.
Home learning day #4: Our teen’s workload is quite light. She flies through her assignments in just a couple of hours. The 11 yo has about twice as much work.
The state confirmed home learning will count as school days so the threat of having school this summer is over. 👍🏼
Our daughter’s birthday fell earlier in our ‘shelter’ period. My wife is being pretty stict so we didn’t try to go get a birthday cake. I made brownies as a make-do solution and we stuck candles in it. We were lucky to have the makings as we don’t generally make desserts.
Sunrise and contrails showing hope is just down around the next corner.
📷 ☀️ ✈️
Taken while exercising early this morning. Quite a few people were out at the same time almost all distancing appropriately.
The surprising benefit of being an investor during a pandemic
I’m a long term investor with a strategy based on portfolio asset allocation. This is a forward thinking approach focused on major changes rather than twitches in valuation.
Around the world, almost every asset class has taken a major hit this month which is of course stressful. But inflection points in markets are times of opportunity. So after spending time last week reducing our planned spending for this year I’ve switched gears. The past few days I’ve been thinking over my existing portfolio and the changes I should make to benefit from the eventual recovery.
But all that’s not the point of the post. In going through this process I’ve found thinking through something complex and in the future has really helped me cope with the stress of the pandemic. You may not be an investor but maybe you can find something similar that interests you and would be equally beneficial. The virus is our present but it is not our future.
Glimmers of positive news do exist UnitedHealth Group Study Clears Path for Self-Administered COVID-19 Test, Improving Testing Efficiency and Protecting Health Care Workers - Business Wire