It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)

Relatively fine, anyway. It’s hardly been a day, but it’s time for another post on this whole pandemic thing. Mostly because it’s hard to avoid.

Everything is shutting down, basically. People are holing up in their homes, surrounded by the mountains of toilet paper they’ve hoarded from Costco.

Multiple cruise lines have shut down for 60 days. The NBA is suspending its season after a player tested positive. The NHL, just about to start the playoffs, is also suspending the rest of its season. Major league baseball is on hold. NASCAR? Nope! The Juno Awards, E3, major events by Google and Microsoft have been cancelled. It’s assumed that soon Apple will announce its annual WWDC event will be set aside this year.

There are travel bans all over, bans against large gatherings, restrictions on visiting elderly relatives in assisted living homes.

The stock markets are melting down, but they are silly and irrational at the best of times, so no real surprise there.

Even Prime Minister Trudeau is self-isolating for 14 days as he awaits his wife’s test results.

Trump has been in contact with lots of people who could easily have transmitted the virus to him, but claims he is fine. He made an address to the American people last night, which some teenager edited down to 36 seconds of heavy breathing and the clip is both awesome and terrifying.

Oddly, the only real impact on me directly so far is the postponement of our semi-annual all-hands IT meeting (roughly 50-60 people in one room, with a buffet-style lunch). I’m wondering what will happen when it’s inevitably discovered that an employee or student at the college has COVID-19.

Fun times.

Note to self: I’m setting up a calendar reminder to update this post one year from now, on March 12, 2021, assuming civilization is still standing. Let’s see what happens over the next 12 months!

UPDATE, March 14, 2022: Yes, I missed updating this post a year later, but here's a link to the post of March 12, 2021, which is a pair of drawing prompts featuring ANGRY and FURIOUS. It kind of works anyway.

A haiku to the fresh new COVID-19 pandemic

You Can't Have Pandemic Without Panic

It's not just the flu
Worldwide and spreading fast
Grab toilet paper

Okay, I couldn’t resist making another crack about the toilet paper hoarding, because really, what is up with people? Do they think toilet paper is some glorious all-purpose thing that will help families make it through global catastrophes? Do they know something about toilet paper that I don’t? I’m pretty sure the answer to that is no.

Not that I can go out and buy some to find out, since they’ve already bought the entire world’s supply in the last week.

Next: Going out and trying to buy toilet paper for real (we’re down to four rolls).

Welcome to the 2020 pandemic. Please bring your own toilet paper.

Today the World Health Organization officially declared the spread of the coronavirus, officially designated COVID-19, as a pandemic. Essentially this means it’s spreading all over the world and there ain’t no stopping it. We have in just the space of a few months gone from the initial reports of the virus in China to containment and now mitigation, to keep the medical systems around the world from being overloaded.

Italy has been quarantined. Yes, the entire country of 60 million people.

The U.S. response is being handled about as well as you’d expect with an orange-skinned narcissist sociopath leading the country.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of all isn’t the cancellation of large events like car shows, professional sports matches and the like (which is logical if you are trying to slow the spread of the virus), but the one thing the general public is fixating on above all else.

Toilet paper.

Yes, for reasons still unclear to me, people are panicking over toilet paper running out. I mean, sure, it’s nice to not have to find toilet paper substitute if you do run out, but what is the actual train of thought here? Do people think toilet paper factories (TPFs) will suddenly close? Do they think trees harvested for paper, including toilet paper, will be placed under quarantine and no longer cut? Do they think the manufacture of everything else–except maybe hand sanitizer–will be unaffected somehow and that only toilet paper has the unique qualities that will see it go scarce?

Of course, due to panic buying, it is now scarce. Here’s a shot I took at the local Save On Foods this afternoon (March 11). Not a single roll of toilet paper to be had:

Good thing we still have a few rolls in the condo. We’ll have to ration them for the next six months, I guess.

People are weird.