Working From Home - Impacts of Coronavirus

[rgarito]

I just read an article about Disney.  They seem to be in this for the long haul.  Apparently they sent a notice out to all of their "castmembers" (employees) with various things including the fact that they are closing most of the housing where many of them live.  So basically, GTF out....

They employ thousands of foreign workers in EPCOT, for instance, for the various cultural things.  They're shipping those kids home.

From the letters they were given (they have been published online in a few places), it sounds like Disney expects this to be a pretty lengthy shutdown.  The things they say are not conducive of a 2-3 week shutdown like was being said....

I think we are gonna have about a 30% unemployment rate spike in America within the next week.  Only those of us in "professional" positions that can work from home and things like first responders and infrastructure (utilities) are going to be working.

And so far there is little news on the government assisting the unemployed much.  (we have things like unemployment but it pays you less than you would need to even pay the rent, let alone anything else). 

Now the head infection specialist in the government is discussing closing all of the restaurants and bars and locking things down/restricting people's movements/etc.  Sounds to me like my predictions of it becoming like Italy within the next week are pretty-much right on target.

[rgarito]

A little humor (or not?) from Berkeley....

[PlainName]

A cynic might think that Disney has figured ill employees are a liability and it'll be easy to find a fresh batch once everyone that's going to get ill has been ill.

[maginnovision]

Not all employees are off. ONLY cast members(park employees staffing rides, suits, shops) maintenance and engineers are still working.

EDIT: Also to add Disney IS paying all of those that aren't working, it's free time off work.

[Stray Electron]

I just read an article about Disney.  They seem to be in this for the long haul.  Apparently they sent a notice out to all of their "castmembers" (employees) with various things including the fact that they are closing most of the housing where many of them live.  So basically, GTF out....

    UCF in Orlando closed several days ago but they told the students that were in school housing that they could stay if they had nowhere else to go. (UCF is the largest university in the US.)

    IMO in the first place, Disney probably can't legal kick anyone out of their housing due to their contracts. Second, among other things, ALL evictions and power and water cut offs due to non-payment have been temporarily halted here by order of the STATE of Florida.  Third, even in ordinary times the only way to force someone out of their housing is take it to court and to get an eviction notice and to have it legally served and since most of the courts in Florida have shut down so that's not going to happen.  Fourth, in order to evict someone you have to call and arrange for a deputy sheriff to be present and to deliver the formal eviction notice to the tenant and I'm pretty sure that the sheriff's department would laugh at you if you asked them to do that right now.  Disney might have told them to leave but there's absolutely no way that they can enforce it.

   Evicting students or temporary workers right now is a really BAD idea.  Not only would is serve no useful purpose but it would unnecessary expose them and the general population to more potential infections.

[Brumby]

This is nuts.....

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Isopropyl-Alcohol-70-IPA-Isopropanol-4L-4-Litre-Fast-Evaporating-Cleaner/254539197994?hash=item3b43b7ee2a:g:bqQAAOSw7QdeayDS

4L of 70% IPA ..... Up for auction, currently going for $355.00.   

People are still bidding - and there's still an hour to go!

[rgarito]

(UCF is the largest university in the US.)

Interesting.  I always though UF was.  (I'm probably biased because I went there  )

[maginnovision]

God damn it, I completely forgot to get alcohol. My board cleaning supply has been low all month. Guess I'll just stop cleaning them after repairs for now.

[Brumby]

This is nuts.....

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Isopropyl-Alcohol-70-IPA-Isopropanol-4L-4-Litre-Fast-Evaporating-Cleaner/254539197994?hash=item3b43b7ee2a:g:bqQAAOSw7QdeayDS

4L of 70% IPA ..... Up for auction, currently going for $355.00.   

People are still bidding - and there's still an hour to go!

Final amount: AUD $520.   

[Mark19960]

I work from home so I won't be impacted much.
However, the kids are normally at school and they are not now as they shut the schools where I am in the states at the moment.

It means I get far less done but it could be worse.
Some people will be completely out of work.
I am hoping something can be done for those people.

[EEVblog]

God damn it, I completely forgot to get alcohol. My board cleaning supply has been low all month. Guess I'll just stop cleaning them after repairs for now.

Other flux cleaning products are still in stock.

[EEVblog]

Almost a third of Sagan's class was away today, I expect that figure to increase throughout the week.
Rumor has it that the government will order schools shut down by the end of the week.

[maginnovision]

God damn it, I completely forgot to get alcohol. My board cleaning supply has been low all month. Guess I'll just stop cleaning them after repairs for now.

Other flux cleaning products are still in stock.

I use flux remover but alcohol to remove the residue from that.

[bd139]

Finger pointing has started now: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1182694.shtml 

Edit: another source: https://twitter.com/zlj517/status/1238111898828066823

[EEVblog]

I use flux remover but alcohol to remove the residue from that.

Get some "no clean" type?

[coppice]

I use flux remover but alcohol to remove the residue from that.

Get some "no clean" type?

No clean flux is OK for some jobs, but the ones I have used are useless for high impedance circuitry.

[PlainName]

Oh dear. Had to collect a parcel from the postoffice today and, since it's a nice if cold day, elected to walk in. Once there my nose was running, as it tends to after some exercise, so had a good honk into a tissue. Next thing I know I'm in the centre of a cleared area about 20' across with many onlookers going blue in the face as they tried not to breathe.

I think I've just discovered a new way to jump queues.

[Stray Electron]

This is nuts.....

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Isopropyl-Alcohol-70-IPA-Isopropanol-4L-4-Litre-Fast-Evaporating-Cleaner/254539197994?hash=item3b43b7ee2a:g:bqQAAOSw7QdeayDS

4L of 70% IPA ..... Up for auction, currently going for $355.00.   

People are still bidding - and there's still an hour to go!

    Florida and I think most areas have laws against gauging people on the price of products during emergencies, (Like gasoline, food and water shortages during a hurricane).  That's only been applied to commercial businesses as far as I know but it's high time that the prosecutors started going after individuals doing the same on Craigslist and Ebay.  Hoard for your own use if you want to but no one should be allowed to massively over charge others for necessities for a profit during an emergency.

[andy3055]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/brothers-hoarding-17-700-bottles-155612516.html

They were being investigated and decided it is time to bear the loss 

[Nusa]

This is nuts.....

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Isopropyl-Alcohol-70-IPA-Isopropanol-4L-4-Litre-Fast-Evaporating-Cleaner/254539197994?hash=item3b43b7ee2a:g:bqQAAOSw7QdeayDS

4L of 70% IPA ..... Up for auction, currently going for $355.00.   

People are still bidding - and there's still an hour to go!

    Florida and I think most areas have laws against gauging people on the price of products during emergencies, (Like gasoline, food and water shortages during a hurricane).  That's only been applied to commercial businesses as far as I know but it's high time that the prosecutors started going after individuals doing the same on Craigslist and Ebay.  Hoard for your own use if you want to but no one should be allowed to massively over charge others for necessities for a profit during an emergency.

I don't see how gouging laws can easily be applied to an approved auction format. In this case it isn't the seller driving up the price, it's the buyers. Once an item is placed for auction, what control does the seller have, legally or otherwise? Tell the winner he bid too much and the item will be sold to a lower bidder?

[Stray Electron]

  I think that the current laws could be applied to auction just as easily as a retail store. The law (here) states that you can't sell items for over 10(?)% than higher than the normal retail price during a declared emergency. Many sellers are in clear violation of that.  An auction seller could still sell but they'd have to cap the price at 10% over normal.  Buyers might be willing to pay more but the sellers shouldn't be allowed to charge or to even accept more than 10% over.

  In the case of E-bay/pay Pal, I think that they should declare those transactions void and refund the entire purchase price to the buyer, even if they've already gotten the product.

[EEVblog]

Costco in California 
https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1239676109731647491

[EEVblog]

I don't see how gouging laws can easily be applied to an approved auction format. In this case it isn't the seller driving up the price, it's the buyers. Once an item is placed for auction, what control does the seller have, legally or otherwise? Tell the winner he bid too much and the item will be sold to a lower bidder?

Yep. The smart sellers will start everything at 99cent auction.

[Nusa]

Costco in California 
https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1239676109731647491

I can give a first-hand report on two different Costos near me in the San Diego, California area.

Toilet paper and bottled water got hit hard over a week ago, but everything else was pretty normal. I have plenty of TP and water already, so that didn't bother me. No long lines, no problem buying food. My impression is it was just the actual preppers and opportunists that were doing mass purchases at that time.

Friday, after Trump finally declared a national emergency, was when everyone else reacted all at once. That was the day all the Costcos had lines around the building. Walmarts too (most of them have very large food sections) for that matter. I saw the lines, but I did not try to enter.

Saturday afternoon, things were back to normal. It was actually less busy than usual and nearly everything was restocked or in the process of being restocked -- there were lots of stock people working their butts off, but clearly Costco's supply chain was up to the task. From the chatter, I picked up that the freezer cases had been almost totally emptied the previous day. Still no TP or water, the pile of eggs was a quarter the usual size, and the quite large pile of SPAM cases were marked "one per person".

I also stopped at a Dollar Tree(everything is $1 each, before tax). They did have TP, if you were willing to pay a buck/roll....so it wasn't completely unobtainable. I was there to get several 2.5 liter bottles of Shasta root beer for a buck each.

Haven't been shopping since. I normally have enough of everything for months, other than perishables which can be done without, so you can call me prepared, but not a true prepper.

[james_s]

Yep. The smart sellers will start everything at 99cent auction.

I like it when they set the starting bid at a price that is low enough to be a good deal but not so low that it's a complete steal because I can usually snag it for the opening bid.

When a popular item starts at 99c it shows up in everyone's searches and pretty soon you have idiots nickle & diming each other to death days before the auction ends. It almost always sells for much more that way.