Isolation Day 49

This is now the 6th COVID-19 post, but the 4th in the series of isolation (Day 7, Day 21 and Day 35). While this has sadly just become the new temporary normal - there is still a bit to talk about.

Shopping

Publix has stepped it up once again all the blue painter tape has been removed and the marketing department has created:

• Full height banners
• "Stand up" green tape
• Directional arrows for aisles and walkways

Basically instead of Publix looking like an emergency setup before a hurricane, it looks like corporate solidified a design change for how all the stores should look during this time.

Arguments

As I approach day 50 of isolation, I've noticed we've hit that phase where everyone thinks they are right. One thing that bothers me the most is people saying "Well 60k people die every year from the Flu and we don't shut the economy down."

Though, I don't think people realize that on average between 39 million and 56 million Americans get the flu yearly. Lets take the middle point of infections and deaths.

Flu: 43k deaths (avg), 45.7 million infections (avg) = 0.094% death rate

Lets play that over stats as of today (May 3, 2020) for COVID-19 in the states.

COVID-19: 67k deaths, 1.165 million infections = 5.75% death rate

That basically shows that this thing is dangerous and I can't believe people still relate it to the flu. Do you know what 5.75% of 45.7 million is? That is 2,627,750.

Monotony

It is amazing how quickly something new can become a routine. The world may be bleak with jobs threatened everywhere, but we have time to establish a new monotonous routine.

I find myself going to bed early, waking up earlier and just working more than I would in a physical working space. The line between work and personal has been blurred since I'm always home now. I can order from Uber Eats and just sit in the same corner of my apartment for hours on hours.

There is this patch of grass behind my apartment complex and I only rarely see someone tossing a Frisbee or playing catch with a dog. Now that area is littered with camping supplies and cookouts and busy every moment of the day. Not only that, but it is trashed. I see a bag of charcoal just laying empty, knocked over chairs and trash.

The only thing I can excuse being left behind is the fire pit, because those stay hot for quite a while. What is wrong with people during this pandemic? Can't they pick up things when they are done? Is this how they treat the beach when I can't see them?

Conclusion

As this blog post shows there isn't a lot of energy this week. This is the new normal and I'm waiting for our city to return to normal. I miss my escapes to the islands or trips to nature preserves. I want to drive (strangely) and sit at my organized work desk.

Though I've found some drive for a new hobby project. Halo Depot is launching soon to index and archive patches for modified .map files. A future post will dive into the details for that.