476 replies to this topic

[Austin55]

My workplace closed for 2 weeks starting yesterday. I've taken all my equipment home and will be working from home on quite a few projects but I'm not sure that it will be enough to fill 8 hours a day. In addition, with almost all local attractions being closed, I'm expecting to get cabin fever. I'm hoping to combat this by getting outdoors a bunch, which is isolating, but the weather forecast is not great right now. I'm also planning on eating at as many local places as I can and try and support them. 

 

What are ya'll doing?

 

P.S. we should all post on the forum a bunch! That will certainly keep folks occupied. 

[johnfwd]

I'm working in my office a bit today.  I'm also trying to get a grip on this crazy realty of local events cancelled or postponed and panic buying at the stores.

[John T Roberts]

I'm working on a couple of school projects.  Since they were off on Spring Break, I wasn't able to contact anyone at the FWISD, but I'm wondering what will be happening over the next two weeks.  Will the people that I need to talk with over the phone be available?  It will be interesting.  I'm not working from home and I will still be going into the office.  We have four people in about 2,500 square feet, so I'm pretty sure the likelihood of spreading the virus (if anyone gets it at all) is minimal.

 

Austin, when you get the chance, you should go out and ride your bicycle.  I hear that is still safe, if you don't get near anyone.

[renamerusk]

I'm taking a completely optimistic position based purely upon my own speculation. According to what is now occurring in Italy, we will have a much better idea of the situation in 3-4 weeks as we are about 2-3 weeks lag time behind Italy.  I believe by April 12th, which is Easter Sunday, that perhaps we will be over self quarantining ourselves and knowing the level of the virus in North Texas.

 

There is a silver lining from the universal closing of everything in that by doing so, we as country, are being forced to focus on a problem which otherwise we have the propensity to simply dismiss and to think of it as not having anything to do with us personally.

 

Hopefully, we will come out of this better educated.

[John T Roberts]

Austin, another thing you could do is go out and take photographs of our wonderful city. 

[Dylan]

Hmmm- I'd suggest we all have a forum meetup, but I don't think local health officials would appreciate that...   

 

I'm an app-based delivery driver (my attempt at getting a media job isn't working out so far), so I'm required to interact with people. If my app were to shut down, I'd lose income.

[John T Roberts]

I agree with you Dylan, so I'm going to make it official.  There will not be a forum meeting in March.  I think the prudent thing to do is to let everything blow over and see what happens.  It could get much worse before it gets better. 

 

I'm planning on discontinuing the forum meetings until further notice and I also plan to give this virus a little extra time after it dies down to start having forum meetings again.  When I do decide to resume them, I will post the next planned meeting on the first day of the month that I plan to resume them.  That will give everyone about 4 weeks notice ahead of time.

[bclaridge]

My workplace is closed as well.  Considering that I work in a school I guess that's best right now.

On the other hand, there are going to be plenty of people who are not getting paid right now (including myself).  The economic impacts from this are somewhat concerning, but the effects of the virus spreading and harming people would be much worse.

[Austin55]

I'm really curious to see what changes the world has after this is over. There are a lot of companies whose stocks are just tanked. Locally, Six Flags and American Airlines are both waaay down. 

 

Personally, I'm off to weird start with my time off. I got concussed at my hockey game and had to go to Harris's ER. I was worried it might be chaotic but was actually pretty empty. They seem to have a lot of precautions in place to stop the spread. 

[roverone]

Austin -- very sorry to hear of your ER visit.

 

So much of this year feels like it is starting off in uncharted territory, and those big instabilities destabilize perception of even small things.

[John T Roberts]

Austin, I'm also sorry to hear about your ER visit.  I hope that you recover quickly.

[Doohickie]

I'm working on a couple of school projects.  Since they were off on Spring Break, I wasn't able to contact anyone at the FWISD, but I'm wondering what will be happening over the next two weeks.  Will the people that I need to talk with over the phone be available?  It will be interesting.  I'm not working from home and I will still be going into the office.  We have four people in about 2,500 square feet, so I'm pretty sure the likelihood of spreading the virus (if anyone gets it at all) is minimal.

FWISD is closed for the next two weeks in terms of the buildings are closed.  They had a recent cyberattack that they're just coming out of so even as we speak my wife is trying to re-establish her logon credentials.  I would say the best way to contact people is via email; hopefully you either have their email addresses or can find them on the district website.

 

She's home, my son is home because his classes are canceled, and I just got permission to telecommute for my job.  My wife has immune issues so we're taking this pretty seriously.  I see others, especially younger folk, that seem to be taking it more lightly than I, but I suppose that might be okay since it doesn't seem to be hitting younger people as hard as older people.

 

I don't necessarily think this is going to be that bad.  However, I think that taking fairly extreme measures early on will go a long way to minimizing the effects.  Flatten the curve and all that.  Considering my wife's condition we're acting out of an abundance of caution.

[John T Roberts]

Doohickie, I have this contact's office number, cell phone number, and e-mail.  On the other FWISD projects that I have been working on, the e-mail attempts have all bounced back to me and before spring break, I was contacted by an outside e-mail address.  I will just wait to see if I can make contact, and if I can, I will see if we can conduct our business without personal contact. 

 

I do understand that you should be acting with an abundance of caution.  For right now, I think that if I just stay in the office, and go home for lunch every day, I will be fairly insulated.  I just have to worry about where the other three people have been. 

[Doohickie]

From what I understand, picking up takeout food is not very risky, especially at places that offer curbside pickup.

[John T Roberts]

I'm still going to eat at home until I can't eat my cooking any longer.  When that time comes, I will consider having some takeout food.  The reason that I won't be eating at my office, is that I have to eat at my desk, and I need to step away from it for a little bit.  Nine hours a day in one place is just a little too much time at one location.  Going home gets me out of the office and gives me a chance to spend a little bit of time with my dogs.  Also, I feel like I need a little break.

 

By the way, I have not left the house all weekend, mainly due to the weather, and I am starting to go stir crazy.  I have been working on updating the website, cleaning house, and a few other things.  Ranger and Scout, the two dogs are in my study with me.  Both of them are piled up and sound asleep.  Ranger is right behind my chair at the computer and Scout is about 3 feet away from him and to my right.  They love spending the day with me.

[Volare]

Pretty much everywhere I fly to is no longer going to operate. AA (not my employer) is saying they are going to park all but 4 of their widebody aircraft. Interesting times.

[renamerusk]

Hmmm- I'd suggest we all have a forum meetup, but I don't think local health officials would appreciate that... 

 

I'm an app-based delivery driver (my attempt at getting a media job isn't working out so far), so I'm required to interact with people. If my app were to shut down, I'd lose income.

 

 

From what I understand, picking up takeout food is not very risky, especially at places that offer curbside pickup.

 So I was thinking about Dylan's situation and that of those who earn their income as "delivery gigs".  

 

 It is likely that you will be in much greater demand as households impose self isolation for delivery of all kinds of products that you purchase beyond food and medicines.  Last night I purchased via Amazon some supplies which do not require immediate delivery and as long as I plan ahead, I will probably being ordering more things online that I purchased in stores.   I will take away my meals from the restaurants.  If the cooks and kitchen staff at the restaurants can be kept busy with take away, they should be okay; I think it is a good idea to support the restaurants in this way so that they will be around when we get through this crisis.

 

Also, I think some of the European countries are now mandating that their citizens 70 years and beyond stay at home.  I think that this is a wise decision for America to take also.

[renamerusk]

After mandating that all flights from Europe will be suspended, there is a scene in O'hare (Chicago) that is simply unreal and illustrates how much chaos the Trump Administration is causing.

 

With a little fore thought and planning, why don't the FAA divert these inbound flights to nearby military airbases where the national guard can help with custom checks?

 

But come to think of it, Trump Administration and Competence is an oxymoron.

[JBB]

If there was fore thought and planning, the mess at the airports wouldn't have happened in the first place.  I'm not sure there was enough time under the circumstances to get bases ready for that.  Military bases don't have people sitting around waiting on something to do.  Everyone typically has a job that wouldn't go away due to some diverted flights.

 

My work closed to the public over the weekend, but full time employees and some part time are still reporting.  That could change the longer this goes on and if employees get sick.  Like any business, it's a tough time for non-profits that depend on daily income to pay the bills.

[renamerusk]

Actually, there is more than enough air bases in the U.S. which are manned by guards who can be ready for an emergency given 2 day advance notice. We can move troops around the U.S. when and as needed.

 

For this one time event, we actually may have exposed passengers who have the virus to many who did not by creating large crowds of people in a small Custom Area.

 

As the passengers deplaned, their temperature could have been taken and their luggage could have been opened and inspected in a much orderly way had airlines been directed to several airbases across the country.

 

We have and pay for a multi-billion military infrastructure; and it should be used domestically when there is a crisis.

[Keller Pirate]

What would you do with the people diverted to military bases after you cleared them?  Put them in buses to the nearest commercial airport for their connecting flights?  Their baggage too? I don’t remember the exact number, but 10-12 airports were the only ones designated to receive flights from Europe so they would have the resources to handle the crowds.

[JBB]

Units of the military designed to be rapidly deployed are meant to do so for the purpose of defending the country and protecting citizens, not as a one-size-fits-all temporary workforce.  I think it's a noble idea and I have every confidence in the ability of our fighting men and women, but if it was practical to repurpose and retrain them as customs workers, gate agents, and baggage handlers on two days notice, it would likewise be reasonable to do the same within the aviation industry.

[Fort Worthology]

My company up here in the Pacific Northwest has gone fully locked down and totally work-from-home for most of us. Our distribution center is working in very locked down shifts. The downtown office is only open in small windows to rotating shifts of employees for absolute emergencies that can't be done remotely. No downtown workers may go to the distribution center, no distribution employees may go to the downtown office, and none of us may visit any retail stores and vice versa.

 

As I'm the IT staff w/ the most experience with the distribution center, I've been reclassified as a distribution center employee so that I may go there in absolute necessity situations but otherwise I am 100% work-from-home and no longer allowed to go to the downtown office, my usual home base, for any purpose for the duration of the situation.

 

The calendar I was given has this in place until September, but we'll see how it actually pans out.

 

Otherwise I am keeping myself inside. Fortunately, I've got plenty to work on in my off hours.

[JBB]

We're looking at alternating schedules within deparmtments and limited work from home to reduce contact.

[renamerusk]

I remember 9-11. These was not 9-11!

 

Planes were diverted to nearest airports and CAB and FAA handle thousands of flights that were grounded within 5-10 hours.

 

Passengers  were handled at these airports and the national guard was deployed to assist.  Passengers leased rental vehicles to get to their final destination.  It was inconvenient, but it was accomplished.  You are always advised to not place anything that is essential in the bins under the airliner.  The airlines can dispatch vans/trucks to where the airliner is grounded to bring the luggage to the airport where you were originally scheduled to land.

 

The pandemic is placing the country in a war footing mode; The Trump Administration has declared it to be a national emergency.  The National Guard and the Army can be deployed ( Fort Hood, etc) along with other training base personnel. State governments do not hesitate to call up the National Guard during flash civil unrest, flooding and for other emergencies. It is really does not fly as a rationale to say that the military would require an enormous amount of training to work with people who are not in immediate harm, in particular training to handle peaceful airline passengers. I would say that the presence of the military would have a calming effect.

 

It was an act of breathtaking ignorance that 1,000 of inbound passengers who could not have possibly known their status with or without having the virus.  Like the cruise ship, the government might have planned to transport these particular passengers to a quarantine area for additional testing when it becomes available.

 

To expose thousands of passengers who would then disperse into the general population has only magnified the problem.

 

The current occupant of the White House is incompetent and unfit to be the President of The U.S.

[Austin55]

The calendar I was given has this in place until September, but we'll see how it actually pans out.

 

September, yikes.  

[JBB]

I read something earlier today about the MLB season starting in July and playing in empty stadiums for the year.

 

I will be shocked if schools go back for this school year.  If they follow the CDC suggestion of 8 weeks, that get them to mid-May with 2-3 weeks to go.

[renamerusk]

....I will be shocked if schools go back for this school year.  If they follow the CDC suggestion of 8 weeks, that get them to mid-May with 2-3 weeks to go.

 I'm making a guess but it would not be inconceivable that schools go six months straight June to December with a break in September.  Fortunately, much if not all the campuses have a/c.

[Keller Pirate]

We finally canceled our flight to Portland next week.  A twitter friend that was in Portland last weekend said it was surprisingly busy compared to Seattle, where he is from.

 

My company up here in the Pacific Northwest has gone fully locked down and totally work-from-home for most of us. Our distribution center is working in very locked down shifts. The downtown office is only open in small windows to rotating shifts of employees for absolute emergencies that can't be done remotely. No downtown workers may go to the distribution center, no distribution employees may go to the downtown office, and none of us may visit any retail stores and vice versa.

 

As I'm the IT staff w/ the most experience with the distribution center, I've been reclassified as a distribution center employee so that I may go there in absolute necessity situations but otherwise I am 100% work-from-home and no longer allowed to go to the downtown office, my usual home base, for any purpose for the duration of the situation.

 

The calendar I was given has this in place until September, but we'll see how it actually pans out.

 

Otherwise I am keeping myself inside. Fortunately, I've got plenty to work on in my off hours.

[panthercity]

Units of the military designed to be rapidly deployed are meant to do so for the purpose of defending the country and protecting citizens, not as a one-size-fits-all temporary workforce.  I think it's a noble idea and I have every confidence in the ability of our fighting men and women, but if it was practical to repurpose and retrain them as customs workers, gate agents, and baggage handlers on two days notice, it would likewise be reasonable to do the same within the aviation industry.

Working gate agents and baggage handler was just a small part of what I did in the USAF. We had to adhere to TSA procedures. The men and women serving can handle a lot. I am really surprised TDYs havent come down the pipeline to assist.

[renamerusk]

The Health Provider Sector might be short of rooms to house those who are positive and require isolation.  I believe that Fort Worth/FWISD might designate one campus where residents of Fort Worth can be monitored and be cared for.  This would relieve the hospitals which might be overwhelmed so that they can care for other patients who need medical care for illnesses other than Covid-19.

[Fort Worthology]

And now, all of our retail stores are closed until at least March 29.

[JBB]

The school district that my wife works for told them this morning to plan as if they will not return to school until September.

[Austin55]

I've bought some Legos that will be delivered by Amazon. Should provide a few hours worth of entertainment. 

[John T Roberts]

Austin, are you feeling better?

[Austin55]

I am yes. Have a follow-up at Harris on Wednesday. Hopefully it is'nt too crazy in there. It was interesting seeing all the precautions being taken.

[JBB]

From your post over the weekend and from a friend that works at Children's in Dallas, I've been pleasantly surprised to hear 2 anecdotes about ERs not being that busy.  Hopefully people are staying away from the ER for non-serious problems.

[John T Roberts]

Downtown Fort Worth Walking Tours are cancelled until further notice.

[Austin55]

From your post over the weekend and from a friend that works at Children's in Dallas, I've been pleasantly surprised to hear 2 anecdotes about ERs not being that busy.  Hopefully people are staying away from the ER for non-serious problems.

 

Seemed that way. I was whisked right in, along with one other women who had an arm injury. No wait time at all. They did say they don't often use the part of the ER that I was in because the main section was set aside or something. There was a set of double doors inside the "backstage" area that was locked and had red caution style tape over it. Very haunted house. At Harris, they had a desk set up right in the double doors offering masks and asking why you were here.

[qmcgown]

Austin, sorry about your injury. Downtown's pretty much a ghosttown, although folks are still coming to the Courthouse to get married. These are times that bring out the worst and best in our behaviors, but I've seen more of the best in the last few days. We haven't been called on much lately to put community ahead of self. I sure hope we can muster the discipline to keep it up in the weeks, or months, ahead. Playwright and storyteller Horton Foote lived through the 1918 flu pandemic, and its effects on life and living, especially here in Texas, were key elements of his works for the rest of his life. I wonder what future storytellers will make of Covid-19.

 

Fortworthology, I had lost track of you and am glad to see you're safe and settled in the wild northwest. We sure miss you here. I know we probably burned you out, but you really made a difference, and your observations continue to find their way into conversations about where the city is headed.

 

Stay safe everyone. May cabin fever be the only one you get.

[roverone]

I just heard from a friend who works at Piattello that all of Chef Marcus Paslay's places are closed for a while.

[Austin55]

We're two hours away from another press conference with the Mayor. I'll bet they close all dine-in tonight.

[renamerusk]

The bad news keeps coming about closing after closing; it is really becoming depressing. However, there is positive news too: the industrious spirit is coming to the rescue in our time of need -

 

Fort Worth Business Press - From alcohol to hand sanitizers: Local distillery switches in crisis | News | fortworthbusiness.com

[John T Roberts]

I said earlier in this thread that I have been basically staying at home, other than work, and I have been working on the website.  I did some things to it over the weekend, but over the last two days, I have stayed at home after work and I have been online constantly trying to find out more information about the COVID-19.  Believe it or not, I think I have overdone it, and I'm feeling a little down and tired.  I should have gone out and walked or something this evening, instead of coming home and sitting at the computer.

[roverone]

It is easy to exhaust yourself trying to quench the thirst for understanding of how all of this is and will be going.  And that exhaustion is made so much worse because you realize that even the most trusted sources are themselves in the process of learning.

 

In so many things, there is a source of knowledge somewhere, even if it is difficult to find.  In this case, it seems like there is mostly only data; lots and lots of data; and people with so many different skill sets are working as hard as they can to turn that data into knowledge to help us all.

[Austin55]

I went to Cane Rosso for pickup. They had 3 employees working. It was obviously empty. Food was delicious.

[johnfwd]

One of Fort Worth's social restrictions is to take the temperature of all visitors to city facilities.  If  your temp reads 100 (F), you are told to leave.

 

Of course you could be running a fever from a sinus infection, not the coronavirus.  I guess this is a necessary precautionary measure, but I don't like it.

[JBB]

If taking temperatures and sending people home that don't have the virus results in getting people who do have it out of the public sooner and by extension gets businesses back to normal and their employees back to earning income, that's a pretty small price to pay.

[renamerusk]

One of Fort Worth's social restrictions is to take the temperature of all visitors to city facilities.  If  your temp reads 100 (F), you are told to leave.

 

Of course you could be running a fever from a sinus infection, not the coronavirus.  I guess this is a necessary precautionary measure, but I don't like it.

Watching international news is quite informative.  The BBC reported a very simply understood Public Announcement Service:

 

  If Coronavirus, the symptoms  to be on the lookout for are:

 

    1. A fever that you will certainly be aware of (100+); I would expect that you would not be walking around at civic facilities

    2. Your body will be hot (pirsperations, sweating on chest and back, skin will be flush)

    3. Your cough will be chain and dry (multiple coughing without being wet or draining)

    4.  Your breathing will be labored.

 

   You may be ill, but it might be a common cold, allergies, or  some other underlying illness.

 

    Remember to wash your hands frequently and to limit your contact with others, especially the elderly. 

 

The latest information suggests that even though the elderly are most in harms way, those below the ages of 40 are also getting seriously ill which can lead to their fatality. 

 

  Every one is at some risk.

 

  Texas is among only 7 other states that has not had a state wide official declaration of an emergency; and the Governor has so far left decisions in the hands of the local officials.  This may be the reason that Mayor Price has come up with such a mealy mouse plan.

 

 Also, if you can afford it, donate a few extra bucks to the your utilities' non-profit energy assistance program.  A lot of families will be struggling to pay bills for the foreseeable future.

[Austin55]

Dine-ins now closed statewide, so if you were wanting a road trip out of town for food you are out of luck.

4 days in and I'm still staying pretty busy working from home. Haven't started to get stir crazy yet.