NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

[K1052]

Your summary is a bit misleading. If you both (1) go remote and (2) move to a low cost of living location, then you get a pay cut. But if you only go remote, then your pay is probably not cut at all.

Yeah, pay adjustments for relocations are not a pandemic era phenomenon. Some of the long commuters getting a cut under that Google calc the article mentions feel shafted but OTOH they're getting 2-3 hours a day back. The person commuting from Stamford, CT to most likely Chelsea has at least an 1.5hr commute, each way.

 

[Ajay]

It goes the other way too. When I was moved to an office in Mass from one in NH, I received a +5% cost of living adjustment because of Massachusetts' income tax.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Right. The commute time is what you can't get back. I'm not sure how people can commute 1+ hours to a park and ride...then another 30-45 minutes by train to get to a major city. The cost of living IN the city is what boosted the salaries that are attracting people from the suburbs to those jobs.

Like I said though....a lot of cities have lost the local income taxes they racked up when so many employees lost their jobs or fled the cities for remote offerings. The cities started fighting back almost immediately because their budgets were losing so much revenue between employment and food/alcohol tax losses.

Remote workers call city income taxes unfair

Millions of people working from home during the pandemic are asking why they still have to pay 1% - 2% of their income to a far off city

www.wcpo.com

 

[K1052]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1425854082506317828

 

[Scarpozzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1425854082506317828

I disagree with this and think they should leave this at the discretion of the business owners to decide.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I like the concept, am vaccinated myself, but still don't like the burden this puts on private business that's already hurting. One could argue that bars/restaurants are where it spreads....but so is church, school, grocery stores, brothels, walmarts..... My point is that distancing and masking can be encouraged/enforced. I think the vaccine requirements are pushing it unless you're dealing with flights or other places where people are in confined spaces and a negative covid test is going to be possibly more valid than a vaccination record.

I WOULD like the see the Federal Government create a vaccination registry website that could be used for verification for businesses or entities that wished to use them (to eliminate the administration burden), but leave the final decision up to the business to enforce it.

 

[K1052]

I disagree with this and think they should leave this at the discretion of the business owners to decide.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I like the concept, am vaccinated myself, but still don't like the burden this puts on private business that's already hurting. One could argue that bars/restaurants are where it spreads....but so is church, school, grocery stores, brothels, walmarts..... My point is that distancing and masking can be encouraged/enforced. I think the vaccine requirements are pushing it unless you're dealing with flights or other places where people are in confined spaces and a negative covid test is going to be possibly more valid than a vaccination record.

I WOULD like the see the Federal Government create a vaccination registry website that could be used for verification for businesses or entities that wished to use them (to eliminate the administration burden), but leave the final decision up to the business to enforce it.

I think fights are unlikely to be an issue in the places that will mandate. Approval of this has to be north of 80% in a place like SF. Personally I feel more comfortable going to places that implement such a requirement.

It would be nice if the government made things easier on everybody and created a pass system for verification that checked against a consolidated database. Other countries have done it so it's not a huge technological hurdle. But we've got what we've got for now.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I disagree with this and think they should leave this at the discretion of the business owners to decide.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I like the concept, am vaccinated myself, but still don't like the burden this puts on private business that's already hurting. One could argue that bars/restaurants are where it spreads....but so is church, school, grocery stores, brothels, walmarts..... My point is that distancing and masking can be encouraged/enforced. I think the vaccine requirements are pushing it unless you're dealing with flights or other places where people are in confined spaces and a negative covid test is going to be possibly more valid than a vaccination record.

I WOULD like the see the Federal Government create a vaccination registry website that could be used for verification for businesses or entities that wished to use them (to eliminate the administration burden), but leave the final decision up to the business to enforce it.

Yup.

Plus, it implies that business owners and restaurant workers are now health experts - where they apparently know better than an individual whether they can or should take the vaccine - I'm talking specifically about people who are unable to take the vaccine for legitimate health reasons.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Yup.

Plus, it implies that business owners and restaurant workers are now health experts - where they apparently know better than an individual whether they can or should take the vaccine - I'm talking specifically about people who are unable to take the vaccine for legitimate health reasons.

Like I said....I really like the concept about requiring vaccines everywhere since everyone in my family that can be is. I just think it's pushing the limits for the businesses that are scraping by during this mess. I'm going to be really upset if I lose more good places to eat before it's over with. They're hard to come by around here.


I haven't heard any legitimate health reasons that someone shouldn't take the vaccine yet, but I'm sure there are some that are valid.

The most ridiculous one I heard came from this one girl I used to work with. (she took a job 100 miles away and left the company). She told me her chiropractor advised against it because of her Fibromyalgia.....so the quack she's seeing for her massage therapy is giving her advice about how vaccination and epidemiology can affect her depression illness. I'd rather take my chances with asking random people medical advice on this website:

Spoiler

Health and Fitness

Discussion about Health and Fitness.

forums.anandtech.com

 

[Torn Mind]

Vaccination passports are likely to block blacks from entrance than everyone else because cultural baggage has fostered a sense of mistrust amongst the populace. There are also logistical issues they may suffer from. The rednecks and Floridians you see in the news are irrelevant for a place like San Francisco.

 

[K1052]

Like I said....I really like the concept about requiring vaccines everywhere since everyone in my family that can be is. I just think it's pushing the limits for the businesses that are scraping by during this mess. I'm going to be really upset if I lose more good places to eat before it's over with. They're hard to come by around here.

Everything I've seen in our service business is people worried about Delta. The virus and people's assessment of risk is the largest threat we face since another pullback of economic activity would be much harder to weather than putting somebody on the door to check this.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Everything I've seen in our service business is people worried about Delta. The virus and people's assessment of risk is the largest threat we face since another pullback of economic activity would be much harder to weather than putting somebody on the door to check this.

That makes sense. I suppose I just worry about the other side of the coin (which I've not sided with at all during this whole thing). I live in the dumb South. These morons are going to say, "You can't tell me what to do." and then they'll totally ignore any common sense just to make a point. It's the same assholes that are going to give us our next US-born variant.

 

[Captante]

Right. The commute time is what you can't get back. I'm not sure how people can commute 1+ hours to a park and ride...then another 30-45 minutes by train to get to a major city.

I used to know a lady that commuted from Milford, PA to Greenwich CT EVERY DAMN DAY! She did make a lot of money but talk about draining your life's essence! *(3.75 to 4.25 hours minimum OTR 5 days a week)

 

[Captante]

I'd rather take my chances with asking random people medical advice on this website:

Spoiler

Health and Fitness

Discussion about Health and Fitness.

forums.anandtech.com

At least that way you'll most likely hear from at least a few actual MD's!



(at least it's SLIGHTLY less risky than seeing these fella's! )

 

[Scarpozzi]

I used to know a lady that commuted from Milford, PA to Greenwich CT EVERY DAMN DAY! She did make a lot of money but talk about draining your life's essence! *(3.75 to 4.25 hours minimum OTR 5 days a week)

My neighbor was some kind of database guy for a fortune 500 company. He got to retirement age and took a job for the USPS using the same software he used in corporate life. He ended up taking the job even though it was 6 hours away. He worked there for like 2 years on contract....he would leave home Sunday night and live in a extended stay...commute back to be with his wife on Friday evening. He was making bank, but didn't go for another contract when that one was up. 2 months after he *retired*, he had a massive stroke and lost the ability to walk.

I'm making a point here. Live life and don't take time for granted....sometimes the time is worth more than the damn money. You never know what's gonna happen.

 

[Captante]

2 months after he *retired*, he had a massive stroke and lost the ability to walk.

I'm making a point here. Live life and don't take time for granted. sometimes The time AND THE EXPERIENCE is 100% ALWAYS worth more than the damn money. You never know what's gonna happen.

Fixed. Otherwise completely agreed!

 

[manly]

I disagree with this and think they should leave this at the discretion of the business owners to decide.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I like the concept, am vaccinated myself, but still don't like the burden this puts on private business that's already hurting. One could argue that bars/restaurants are where it spreads....but so is church, school, grocery stores, brothels, walmarts..... My point is that distancing and masking can be encouraged/enforced. I think the vaccine requirements are pushing it unless you're dealing with flights or other places where people are in confined spaces and a negative covid test is going to be possibly more valid than a vaccination record.

I WOULD like the see the Federal Government create a vaccination registry website that could be used for verification for businesses or entities that wished to use them (to eliminate the administration burden), but leave the final decision up to the business to enforce it.

How exactly do you distance at a bar or even a popular restaurant? Believe it or not, the HEPA air filtration on jumbo jets is rather effective, and it's not as risky as you'd think, with universal masking. If the decision is left to businesses to decide, the issue itself becomes more politicized and enforcement is even trickier. You get two tribes screaming at each other, and that's not good for small businesses either. Witness the ongoing stupidity over having kids wearing masks to attend school. The irony is that grade-school kids DGAF, they'll do whatever teachers ask of them. It's the wackadoo parents who are screaming about parental choice and freedom.

The problem here is that Americans by and large "reopened" months ago, so nobody is talking about real social distancing for a matter of short weeks (not months). It's like "we all" get to choose one of the dumbest paths forward (grit and bear it); and hospitals will have to again deal with the consequences. My point is we tried carrots and they failed miserably. Looks like the stick (or perceived threat) works better; as soon as Delta started ripping through the South, delayers decided to go and get vaccinated. I'm not saying everybody should follow SF on this policy, but statistically they did relatively well for a big U.S. city in limiting the damage from COVID.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Fixed. Otherwise completely agreed!

You totally removed my pornstar and marijuana quality control job references.

 

[Captante]

Believe it or not, the HEPA air filtration on jumbo jets is rather effective

Technically I understand this is correct, however pretty much everyone I know who flies a lot on business (and running a NY area limo co that's quite a few people) tells me they get sick right after flying all the time especially in winter.

My educated guess is that most of this infection is caused by nasty critters expelled/excreted by fellow passengers that never make it to the filters.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Technically I understand this is correct, however pretty much everyone I know who flies a lot on business (and running a NY area limo co that's quite a few people) tells me they get sick right after flying all the time especially in winter.

My educated guess is that most of this infection is caused by nasty critters expelled/excreted by fellow passengers that never make it to the filters.

Humidity on airplanes is typically lower than 50%. This dryer air makes particles fly more freely into your airways.

Airlines have claimed that they ramped up air filtration on flights and they cited this on the news the past year. I'm going to say though, that this could be all a marketing ploy to keep the ailing industry afloat. The networks get money for running the story and no one can gauge exactly how good the filtration in a real world situation is....because you don't know how many people are sick before/after.

My guess is that perhaps the filtration protects you from a passenger in the back infecting a passenger in the front as long as they don't pass each other in the bathroom or aisle. For the most part, your absolute, prolonged proximity to unwell passengers is still going to be your biggest risk. On a 10 hour flight, you're going to be at more risk than on a 45 minute flight even because that prolonged exposure could have someone become more contagious as they sit in their seats.

Ohh well....we're rolling the dice next month on one of those 10 hour flights. Wish me luck.

 

[manly]

Technically I understand this is correct, however pretty much everyone I know who flies a lot on business (and running a NY area limo co that's quite a few people) tells me they get sick right after flying all the time especially in winter.

My educated guess is that most of this infection is caused by nasty critters expelled/excreted by fellow passengers that never make it to the filters.

Pre-COVID and universal masking on flights?

There have been studies and extensive modeling done; I'm not saying flying is "safe" but much of the risk is due to interactions in the airport rather than onboard the plane. IIRC the DoD did its own modeling. To summarize IIRC, you can catch a bug from a passenger near you (within a lateral proximity or +/- couple rows). Otherwise the designed air flow isn't going to transmit particles from further away.

Considering you're supposed to wear a mask the whole time, I'd assert you're safer in-flight than hanging out at a typical bar on Saturday night. YMMV depending on local vaccination rates.

 

[nakedfrog]

Pre-COVID and universal masking on flights?

There have been studies and extensive modeling done; I'm not saying flying is "safe" but much of the risk is due to interactions in the airport rather than onboard the plane. IIRC the DoD did its own modeling. To summarize IIRC, you can catch a bug from a passenger near you (within a lateral proximity or +/- couple rows). Otherwise the designed air flow isn't going to transmit particles from further away.

Considering you're supposed to wear a mask the whole time, I'd assert you're safer in-flight than hanging out at a typical bar on Saturday night. YMMV depending on local vaccination rates.

But of course, some fucks feel specially privileged to not wear their mask once in the air, and not all flight attendants feel like dealing with it (saw this on my recent flight)

Quite a few folks flouting the requirement inside the terminal, too...

 

[Captante]

Pre-COVID and universal masking on flights?

Exactly.... and for as long as I've been in the business too so since the early 1990's. (usually when referring to catching a cold)

As I said my guess is that most of the spread is directly human to human in one way or another.

 

[Scarpozzi]

This COVID-19 vaccine might stop the delta variant better than others

Apparently Moderna is doing better against the Delta variant. Who know how accurate this data is, but I saw the same story come across other networks.

 

[K1052]

This COVID-19 vaccine might stop the delta variant better than others

Apparently Moderna is doing better against the Delta variant. Who know how accurate this data is, but I saw the same story come across other networks.

Hard to tell if the difference in effiacy is the vaccine or the dosing schedule. Pfizer was 3 weeks and Moderna is 4.

 

[K1052]

New Orleans going with vaccine/test requirements to enter many businesses

https://twitter.com/x/status/1425885685156913159