Friday, May 8, 2020

Dazed and Confused

We complete the eighth week of quarantine and I have had my fill of viewing people’s basement, home office, bedroom or whatever has been the Zoom/WebEx background. We need to have proper lighting lessons, some of my remote viewing looks like a scene from dungeons and dragons. Also, can we mute our microphones; enough of the dog barking, the strange bodily sounds and electronic feedback. Finally, fix your camera, I have seen more foreheads and eyebrows than anything else.

The curve is not sufficiently flattened, and few regions have met their own criteria for opening up. And yet, opening up they are. The stock market seems jubilant. Politicians seem pretty confident. And the experts seem confused by the disconnect. Consider these three headlines: WaPo: Trump cheers on governors even as they ignore White House coronavirus guidelines in race to reopen. NYT: Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen. Politico: Trump and governors shrug off White House guidance. So we're opening even though we shouldn't open and most people don't want to open; the White House is shrugging off the advice from the White House; and while every model shows us headed for a storm, the administration is winding down its coronavirus task force.

Steve Bannon once argued that the way to defeat the media is to "flood the zone with shit." I suppose that makes me Roto Rooter, but even I can't make sense of this tsunami of sewage. In a recent study in San Francisco's Mission District, 90% of the people who tested positive have been leaving their homes for work. So that makes now a good time to send people back to work? Of course, there are many variables and I wouldn't want to be responsible for making these choices. But it would be nice to have a hint of an idea of why we're making (or failing to make) various decisions. If there's a bright spot to this confusing overload of information it's that—if recent history is any indicator—there won't be a test.

I attended (virtually) four meetings this week, at each meeting I heard different spins and different strategies from the same organization. We have a long way to go.

COVID-19 NOTES – Timeline:

March 11 –World Health Organization declares a crisis global pandemic

March 16 – Bay Area is the first in U.S. to order residents to shelter in place.

April 11 – U.S. tops Italy for world’s largest death toll.

May 8 – 73,297 deaths in the U.S.

Businesses should close break rooms. Restaurants should consider disposable menus and plates. Schools should have students eat lunch in their classrooms instead of the cafeteria.

Those are some of the recommendations in draft CDC guidance.

In the initial reopening phases, schools should space desks six feet apart and nix any field trips and school assemblies.

Churches should use a stationary collection box, and schedule extra services if necessary to make sure church pews aren't packed.

Restaurants should consider throwaway menus, single-service condiments, and disposable forks, knives, spoons, and dishes. They should install sneeze guards at cash registers and avoid buffets, salad bars and drink stations.

More than forty percent of the nation’s thirty million small businesses could close permanently in the next six months, according to the U.S .Chamber of Commerce.

 

TERRIFYING READ - The Nightmare Scenario': How Coronavirus Could Make the 2020 Vote a Disaster: Trump can't cancel the presidential election. Here's what you should really be worrying about.

 

TECH’S NEW A LIST - Gaming: Fortnite maker Epic Games and Roblox are making a strong case as concerts, movie events, and other economic activity shifts to the virtual realm.

Work: CRM do-it-all Salesforce is certainly a giant, but the newly public duo of Slack and Zoom have also proven their value during the pandemic.

Fintech: During the PPP chaos, PayPal and Square showed they can be more nimble than Wall Street incumbents. Let's see if they can lead a revolution in payments in the U.S.

Tech tech: Cloud services and cybersecurity are the unsung heroes of our digital economy. Consider this: A "hybrid cloud" company you never heard of (Red Hat) was bought by IBM last year for $34 billion.

Videoconferencing: Following Zoom’s hostile takeover as our virtual bachelorette party platform of choice, Facebook launched Messenger Rooms for more robust video chat. Meanwhile, Google made Meet (previously Hangouts Meet) free for all users, and Microsoft is beefing up Teams. They are all adding familiar tile views and, this goes without saying, custom virtual backgrounds.

Health tech: Apple and Google are set to launch their joint coronavirus contact tracing software on May 1—but their ambitions in the personal health market have been obvious for years. Google's "Project Nightingale" is a massive project parsing the health data of tens of millions of Americans.  And Tim Cook said this last year: “If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, 'What was Apple's greatest contribution to mankind?' It will be about health.”

Education: As more classrooms lean on digital tools, tech giants like Microsoft are working on ways to facilitate learning in the most rural communities around the globe. But Google seems likely to dominate the category during and after the pandemic. Its free Google Classroom service doubled active users to 100+ million from early March to early April.

DEAR RINK RATS:

I have a degree in a field I thought I loved, but now that I have graduated, I don’t know what to do next. Help? Is this a normal thing or am I a little lost?

SIGNED,

The Real World is not for everyone

Dear Real World is not for everyone:  It is perfectly normal to not know exactly where you are headed post-grad. Here are a few tips to help you get your footing. (But take what I say with an ice-cold Labatt Blue. I am a writer, not a career counselor.)

Think about why you studied what you studied. Are you iffy on staying in your degree field because you truly aren’t interested in it anymore, or because there’s an intimidating barrier to entry? If the answer’s B, don’t get discouraged by hard work.

Reach out to people whose careers you admire. Conversations with Real Working Adults in any field can give you a better sense of your expectations and goals.

Remember: What you do first isn’t what you do forever. Gallup has called millennials the job-hopping generation for a reason. View your first role as a chance to adjust to life on your own. You don’t have to love every minute for it to be valuable.

And pay off that student loan, no more student loans.

Sincerely,

R. Rats

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to George Clooney (59), Tina Fey (50), Christina Hendricks (45), Chris Krich …a bit late but he will take some cash from this writer today on the links, Willie Mays (89) , Al Pacino (80), Bob Seger (75), Robb Suffredini …famous brother-in-law, Uma Thurman (50).


COLLEGE CHRONICLES(Correction) We did not include The Redlands Bulldogs in our CARES Act funding in SCIAC last week.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020 authorized $2.4 trillion.

$14 billion was allocated to higher education students and institutions, here are the SCIAC allocations:

Institution                                          Total                                       Grants to Students

Univ. of Redlands                              $3,388,020                             $1,694,010

 

Eastern Michigan University Eagles appears to have an unconventional method for distributing Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds to students. The

university is giving summer-school students a tuition credit. That may violate the spirit of the coronavirus-stimulus law.

How does the method work? Eastern Michigan received $13.7 million through the stimulus package, and about $6.8 million must be distributed to students affected by the pandemic. The law requires the emergency grants to be given directly to students to cover “authorized expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.” The university is offering grants of $500 to students enrolled in three summer credits, or $1,000 for six credits. In a statement, Eastern Michigan said the federal funds would help “defray the cost of technology, online fees, and other technology-related costs due to providing online courses this term.” It’s not clear if students must spend the remaining money from the grant on tuition, or if they can withdraw it. Aaah, the joys of dealing with government handouts.

 

RINK RATS POLL - Our distinguished experts polled the favorable/unfavorable rating for bunch of people/things, including:

Dunkin' Donuts 73%/10%

Joe Exotic 72/15

Anthony Fauci 67/10

Barack Obama 67/25

Tom Brady 56/21

Bill Belichick 54/18

Joe Biden 49/40

Gavin Newsom 48/25

Donald Trump 30/64

 

MARKET WEEK - How can it be that stocks are soaring when the economy is crashing? Market movements are often head-scratching, but in this case, the answer may be relatively simple: because of moves by the Federal Reserve, financial markets are awash in money, vast, water-hose supplies of money.

Since March, the Fed has committed to lend or buy trillions of dollars of financial assets, which by some estimates might end up exceeding $8 trillion dollars by the time all is said and done. No one knows how high that figure will climb. By way of comparison, during the last financial crisis in 2008-2009, the Fed ended up adding about $3 trillion over the course of several years.

The record-long U.S. economic expansion is over after almost 11 years, with what is likely to be the deepest recession in at least eight decades now under way.

ON THIS DATE – Seventy-five years ago, May 8, 1945, Nazism was finally eradicated with Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allies, after six years of war and tens of millions dead. The jubilation was tempered by exhaustion, sorrow and a stark awareness that World War II had not yet run its course in the Pacific, a bloody final that would require another four months and two atomic bombs.

 

THIS OR THAT:

Sinatra or Bennett                             Sinatra

Red or White                                      Red

Fox or CNN                                        CNN

Marketing or Finance                       Really! Finance

Bauer or CCM                                    CCM

Titleist or Callaway                           Titleist

Nixon or Trump                                Never thought I would say this: Nixon

 

JACK ASS OF THE MONTH - So President Trump does not need to pardon Michael Flynn (who was fired by President Trump); Attorney General Barr dropped the charge to which Flynn had pled guilty. This is a foretaste of what a second Trump term would be like—the entire executive branch weaponized to help POTUS friends, punish his enemies, and undermine the rule of law.

CBS Reporter: “How will history look back on your decision to drop charges against Flynn?”

BILL BARR: “Well, history is written by the winners. So, it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”

It is going to get worse.

A no brainer this month congratulations to Attorney General William Barr, our Jack Ass of the Month.


“Why We Love Sports” – I received a text from a great college friend Tom McGuire (St. Lawrence University ’76) today. He wanted to know if I ever read “The Game” by Ken Dryden.

Yes, I have, a great read about what it is like to be a hockey player growing up in Canada, playing in college (Cornell University) and professional hockey in Montreal.

When I was in Ithaca, New York a friend of mine happened to be the brother-in-law of Ken Dryden. Ken Dryden was the goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. The 1979 Stanley Cup Finals had the Montreal Canadiens play against the New York Rangers. They split the first two games in Montreal, Game 3 in New York and my friend had two tickets.

Off we went on this May 17 in my green two-door Mustang, a seven-hour drive to New York, we made it to the Garden, and saw the Canadiens win 4-1. After the game we stayed and visited with Mr. Dryden, had a few brews, I must say I was in heaven. It was getting late, a few of the players missed the team bus back to the hotel. Ken asked for a lift back to the hotel, he also asked if a few of his teammates could get a lift as well.

Here I am, my friend in the front seat, Ken Dryden, Larry Robinson, and Guy Lapointe (if you do not know hockey too bad…impressive huh boys), crammed in the back seat. Telling me how they hate the ice surface at the garden, asking what I do for a living, and we owe you a beer after the ride. Fortunately, a short trip to the hotel, we have a few beers, learn about Guy Lafleur’s fear of heights, among other fears, and head back to Ithaca the next morning.

The Canadiens win the next two and take the Cup in five.

That summer Ken Dryden comes to Ithaca to visit his in-laws we get together for a round of golf and the highlight of the day play ball hockey in his in-law’s driveway – I am goalie and I shut out Ken Dryden. My decade has been made.

A few years later Mr. Dryden wrote this book and sends me an autographed copy.

This is why we love sports!

 

SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS – No more sports for a while, The Swami tries his skills elsewhere:

1).  Over and under when we can go back to the workplace – August 1, The Swami likes the overs.

2). Over and under when I can get a haircut – July 1, The Swami picks the overs.

3). Over and under on when we pay attention to Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates explaining the coronavirus management AND not President Trump – June 1, The Swami says the under on this one.

4). The Swami predicts the Detroit Lions season: Chicago (W), at GB (L), at Ariz. (L), N.O. (W), at Jax (W), at Atl. (L), Indy (W), at Minn (L), Wash. (W), at Car. (W), Hou (L), at Chi. (L), GB (L), at Tenn. (L), Tom B. (L), Minn (W). Lions start 6-4, finish 7-9.

2020 Season to Date (3-3)

Next Blog:  I have no clue.

Until Monday May 18, 2020 Adios.

Claremont, California

May 8, 2020

#XI-1-407

2,468 words, seven minute read

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – The New Yorker

 

 

RINK RATS POLL – What is your comfort food?

______   Pizza

______   Tuna Melt

______   Mac n’ Cheese

______   French Fires

______   Other

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH – “Pour yourself a drink. Put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.

    Elizabeth Taylor

 

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

Our Eleventh Year.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com


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