Isolation Day 77
This is now the 8th COVID-19 post, but the 6th in this series of isolation (Day 7, Day 21, Day 35, Day 49 and Day 63). While this has just taken a toll on the basics of life - we can dive into what has happened in the past two weeks.
The Reopening
Since day 63 a lot of things have re-opened. Some of my favorite restaurants have re-reopened, but they are only allowed to be at like 50% capacity and tables must be spaced 6ft apart. I see some clever tricks happening at some places where some new tables have been placed in hallways or outside in the parking lot.
I imagine this allows more tables properly spaced out, so they sit at 50% capacity. Since it is not feasible to get 50% capacity in the same space on top of having to space tables out.
There is a bit drama with stores requiring masks and some folks complaining loudly that it infringes on their rights. I think that is insane, because stores can refuse service for no shoes or shirt - so this seems like an extension. However, I'm not a lawyer and with the disability act - what if someone literally cannot put on a mask? That seems implausible, but I guess the business can just offer to shop/help on behalf of that use case.
George Floyd
Australia may have burned for months and a pandemic may be destroying the world, but once again one bad apple in the police force went over the line killing an African-American man known as George Floyd by kneeling on his neck.
At some point in America police stopped being an icon of support for a community, but a feared icon. For most, their only interaction with police is a traffic stop. For others, interactions with police may be the end of their life.
The day (Saturday May 30, 2020) started with peaceful protests around the states, but as night fell - things escalated. I wish all protests would be peaceful, but to be honest - even the peaceful ones I dislike if they disrupt me. Traffic gets blocked and errands or returning from work becomes a nightmare. I would never expect that a simple 20 minute drive would become 2 hours due to closed roads.
However, I also understand that you have to disrupt the world at times for a message to be heard because people keep dying. I don't think rioting is going to solve anything, it is just sad to see.
Not everything happened during the night. New York Police have been seen in the viral media due to the above clip. Blocking police seems rough because who knows if they are trying to go somewhere for a reason or just trying to maintain peace. I'll tell you running over citizens who you are sworn to protect is not the best path though.
Proud to be Human
Taking a break from the pure sadness of the rest of the world, humans have successfully privatized space travel with the human test by NASA to certify that SpaceX can be used for human travel to the ISS (and beyond hopefully).
Watching Dragon 9 DEMO-2 on Saturday was just amazing - the last hour of the countdown was so interesting to watch. Learning about the fuel loads and all the go/no-go checks that occur till the final 10 second countdown. It about brought me to tears watching this launch, it just felt proud to be a human.
Too bad the camera for the landing of the booster went out, because it is amazing to see the booster land back on Earth. I'm writing this post as Doug/Bob are under an hour from connecting to the ISS - that will mark the end of the "launch" and the only thing left is the return.
My office may open up soon, but otherwise this just feels like the new normal. Will driving daily back to work feel weird? Will buying gasoline weekly to fill up the car feel weird? I just want some sense of normal back, but I fear we have some time to go especially now with an invisible virus and visible riots.