Wednesday, March 18, 2020

I Have Started a List of the Costumes I Want to Be Buried In

  • Trump apologized yesterday for his PR failures re: plague
  • mind, he's not apologetic for any policy decisions re: plague containment
  • he will continue to chinese the plague like Democrats russianed, russian, and will russian Trump
  • he's apologizing he fucked up the propaganda signaling to his cracker-whispering bleaters
  • Nothing has scared me more the plague will be far worse than the horrible I imagined than Trump apologizing for anything


                 
  • My employer wants us to provide digital support for long-distance education in a national emergency and I am cool and ready and willing but my employer also wants us interact with humans across a counter and handle thousands of objects touched by those humans, it will not shut the building down to only essential employees for digital support, fuck my employer, I work at a major vector, will be if am not already a carrier at best
  • I don't think my employer wants *me* dead at moment except on a list algorithmically generated on employees not obsolete but could be replaced by someone younger, cheaper, maybe, someday, if buyouts ever offered in an economy that no longer exists
  • Nor do I claim that our shitlords - or the Russians and/or Chinese - released this plague, I just claim I think our shitlords knew something sooner or later, deliberate negligence, re: plague, plague monetizing
  • Our shitlords - or at least the monetizing disaster-capital savants they hire and listen to - are giddy, re: plague

         


   
 
AFTER I TURN SIXTY-NINE

John Yau

I don't imagine that a chariot is hurrying near but that a sleek car is speeding up
I have started a list of the costumes I want to be buried in, beginning with a horny centaur
I try to put aside obituaries but I am unable to do so for very long (maybe ten minutes)
I eat the same meal every night while reading recipes of dishes I have never tasted
I shudder nearly every time I read the phrase "Lifetime Guarantee or Your Money Back."
I no longer find it necessary to stop and look at what is going on at a construction site
I decide I won't tell people to stop sending me books even if I will never read them
I stop and watch ambulances trying to get past cars that don't want to move aside
I begin thinking about different methods I might use to remove myself from the story
I know what my friend meant when he said his dog would take his place on the couch
I think about the cities I will never return to, including Cadaques and Caracas
I wonder when I will no longer begin a sentence with the words "if" and "when"
I dream that my ashes will be scattered in a remote spot in Ireland that no one visits
I admit that shrinking into myself is not as unpleasant as I once thought

6 comments:

  1. handling stuff at a library

    i suggest using plastic gloves, and sanitizing wipes

    Q: Is it safe to bring home books from the library?
    A: Absolutely. In fact, there’s emerging data on how long this virus can live on inanimate surfaces. It doesn’t live very long on things like cardboard. It can only live for minutes to hours on surfaces like cardboard, and it can live for hours to days on surfaces like plastic and metal—but that’s under perfect circumstances and chances are it won’t live very long. It depends on the surface, the temperature, on ultraviolet light. The virus sure can stick to surfaces, but surfaces like books at a library won’t stick very long.

    The library is a public place and people are going in and out all the time. There are other points of contact along the way, like opening the door. Be mindful of having impeccable hand hygiene regardless of where you are in public. But I wouldn’t be concerned about taking books out of the library and bringing them home. Not at all.


    published march 14

    these are the opinions of infectious disease specialist Isaac Bogoch, associate professor at University of Toronto School of Medicine, who says “We have the Prime Minister in self-isolation because his wife is infected. We had the NHL suspend its season. And minor hockey in Canada suspended its activities as well. That’s the core of Canada—our head of government and hockey. I get that there’s a lot more to Canada than that, but if there is any indication that the coronavirus is here and it’s time to take it seriously, it’s that.”

    https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/coronavirus-in-canada-should-you-shame-friends-into-cancelling-their-vacations-and-17-other-pressing-questions/

    understanding why people and organisations think what they think, and do what they do, and fail to do what they fail to do

    keep in mind that, quite often, it's not personal - it's just business

    one would be surprised how often thoughtlessness is misinterpreted as malice, and the reverse

    also worth remembering, the iron law of organisations and the harvard law of behaviour [one version - https://www.azquotes.com/quote/670036]

    rectification of names

    our friend sanjay gupta, md, of cnn, said this morning that sheltering in place is a misleading way to talk about it - it fails to emphasize that reducing physical closeness and interaction is the important thing

    an actual incident from 8 am today in g_____town, maryland

    i showed up at the discount supermarket at their usual opening time - i have sometimes gone there at this hour, where i have found a fully stocked, clean, uncrowded, very pleasant shopping experience - in previous times it has been convenient for me to go there after dropping missus charley off at the metro

    [today missus charley is teleworking, and it is not possible to predict when, if ever, she will ride the metro again]

    when i pulled up there was already one customer waiting there, who had already put in his quarter to get his shopping cart - a man of european descent [as i am], over six feet tall, later middle age - taller than i, but younger

    he had not noticed the posted sign about altered hours - 9 am to 7 pm, instead of their usual 8 to 8

    when i pointed it out to him, he thanked me

    as we parted - and we'd never been closer than six feet apart - i said, 'stay safe, man' and he replied 'you too' - these are our exact words, not a paraphrase

    i drove home, stopping by the pharmacy to picked up a prescription for missus charley - NO virus testing is available there until further notice, a sign on their window says



    to all five of you to whom these presents may come, greetings - and stay safe


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. followup from costco visit

      signs at door indicating what is NOT in stock - e.g. toilet paper - and reminding one of six foot social distancing

      some items have stringent 1-each limits - of these i bought a ten pound bag of sugar and a bottle of store brand acetaminophen

      long checkout lines, but not unbearable - from getting in line to finishing packing my trunk was 20 minutes

      my nitrile exam gloves held up during shopping, but i ripped them while loading the car - next time i will be more careful

      food court is closed - you can order whole pizzas (cheese or pepperoni) to take out

      the mood was notably somber, but people were being kind to each other

      and now for something somewhat different - it occurs to me that among the hymns my father had listed to be sung at his memorial service was one with lyrics by the american quaker poet john greenleaf whittier

      I know not what the future has
      Of marvel or surprise,
      Assured alone that life and death
      God’s mercy underlies.


      Delete
    2. for what i intended to convey with my reference to 'the iron law of organisations' see

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy

      https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_institutions

      Delete
  2. Conspiracies happen, but that doesn't mean everything bad that happens is the result of one. Some are saying the virus leaked out of a Chinese lab. Some are saying the US deliberately released the virus in China to fuck up their economy. Some are calling the virus a hoax that's being used to take away more liberties. I don't know about any of this. It's all conjecture at this point.

    I'm going to make use of Safeway's delivery service, or at least give it a try. But like everyone else still have to go out for certain things. I worry a bit about Teddy if something happens to me. He's a super great cat, always gentle, always loving but he takes a lot of care and most people don't want an animal with medical problems. Right now it's a waiting game.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Same:
    Mushroom suit: https://www.sciencealert.com/this-mushroom-suit-digests-your-body-after-you-die
    or Tree pod: https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Update: Safeway might be able to deliver this time next year. Went to Safeway, lots of empty shelves, people are panicking. I washed my hands again, should be good. If this keeps up we'll be eating our rugs sometime soon. People have a knack for taking a bad situation and making it worse. Peace, love, and harmony! If I croak I won't miss these assholes.

    ReplyDelete