Coronavirus pandemic

[Max Rockatansky]

The latest quarantine requirements by state:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/states-reopening-many-still-require-215946935.html

[SEWIGuy]

Sweden's epidemiologist admits he got it wrong.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/man-behind-sweden-s-virus-strategy-says-he-got-some-things-wrong

[kphoger]

The whole point of the stimulus checks was to stimulate the economy by spending money.  So if people went out and spent it on televisions, enamel-wear pots and car repairs, that was the entire idea.

The whole point of the stimulus checks was "To provide emergency assistance" [S.3548 - CARES Act / 116th Congress (2019-2020)].

I find the whole question of "what did you spend your stimulus check on?" to be nonsensical. We got our money direct deposited into our bank account. Pretty much everything we spend any money on ultimately comes out of the same bank account. Asking what we spent the stimulus money on is a little bit like asking which glass on someone's table the milk from a particular cow at the dairy farm ended up in - that's not how it works, you can't map a particular output to a particular input. Dollars in the bank account don't have individual identities.

If I were asked a multiple choice question about this I'd probably say we spent it on our mortgage since that is our largest single expense. But that's not a meaningful answer. I can't give a meaningful answer.

It's a sensible question.  If my parents hadn't received that check, then they wouldn't have bought a new enamel-wear pot.  They therefore can be said to have spent the check on cookwear.  As Max Rockatansky pointed out, if he hadn't received that check, then he wouldn't have bought a bicycle.  He therefore can be said to have spent the check on a new bike.  Some people, if they hadn't received that check, wouldn't have been able to afford the next month's rent.  They therefore can be said to have spent the check on rent, groceries, utilities, etc.

You can still use it for things you'd buy anyways and save the money you would have normally spent.

Effectively, then, you'd be putting your stimulus check into savings.

I thought messy signatures were a sign of importance. The messier it gets, the higher up you probably are, or at least think you are.

Years ago, I used to have a complicated, hard-to-recreate signature.  But, when my job later had me signing my name multiple times every day, I changed it up to something with a LOT fewer strokes.  It's basically just a very stylized version of my initials, and it takes me less than one second to complete.  I suspect a lot of prominent people with famous signatures have messy or illegible ones because they have to sign their name so many times during a given week that anything neat and composed would quickly grow tiresome.

FWIW, I still have to remember how to sign my name the "old" way, because that's the signature in my passport.  When I cross into Mexico and get my papers at the customs office, I'm instructed to sign my name the same way it appears in my passport.  Hence, when I then proceed to get my vehicle import paperwork, the signature on my driver's license and vehicle documents does not match the signature on my passport and tourist card.   

The latest quarantine requirements by state:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/states-reopening-many-still-require-215946935.html

We have good friends who are going on family vacation next week.  They're renting a camper to tow behind their pickup and going to Wyoming.  Along the way, they plan to camp, hike, see family.  One thing they've mentioned is that so much of Wyoming is federal land, many of the places they'd like to visit are still shut down due to federal orders.  However, for other states such as South Dakota, it's been easier to find places they're able to visit.

[TheGrassGuy]

Sweden's epidemiologist admits he got it wrong.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/man-behind-sweden-s-virus-strategy-says-he-got-some-things-wrong

...because he was asked a loaded question. He clarified this himself later, what he meant was that while he still thinks the Swedish strategy was solid as a whole there are improvements

[Max Rockatansky]

Sweden's epidemiologist admits he got it wrong.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/man-behind-sweden-s-virus-strategy-says-he-got-some-things-wrong

...because he was asked a loaded question. He clarified this himself later, what he meant was that while he still thinks the Swedish strategy was solid as a whole there are improvements

And reading further into the article clearly conveyed that wasn't an admission of failure.  I'm not saying I agree/disagree with Sweden's take but it would be nice to have a break down beyond a headline title.  Even the headline title isn't "an absolute admission of failure."

[SEWIGuy]

The whole point of the stimulus checks was to stimulate the economy by spending money.  So if people went out and spent it on televisions, enamel-wear pots and car repairs, that was the entire idea.

The whole point of the stimulus checks was "To provide emergency assistance" [S.3548 - CARES Act / 116th Congress (2019-2020)].

That's the title of the bill, which is often nonsense.

Read various narratives about the reason for the stimulus.  It was to provide help yes, but it was also sent to people who didn't really need it so they would spent money and keep the economy going.  The same thing was done in 2008.

[jemacedo9]

Re spending of stimulus checks...as with many things, there isn't a single answer.  Some people deposited directly into a savings account.  Some people spent it on everyday expenses - either out of need or out of frugality or whatever, which as mentioned is basically savings.  Some spent it on one-time wants.

I did about 50/50...I spent half on new camera equipment that I had wanted but wasn't really saving for, and the other half put directly into savings.

[hbelkins]

If I hadn't gotten the stimulus check, my property taxes would have remained unpaid, and I would be driving my wife's vehicle when I needed to go somewhere. I spent that money on things I couldn't afford had I not gotten it, so I can very easily identify where mine went.

[vdeane]

The latest quarantine requirements by state:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/states-reopening-many-still-require-215946935.html

I think it's interesting that so many states have quarantine requirements specific to states like NY, where we have things largely under control, and completely ignore the new hot spots.

[Max Rockatansky]

The latest quarantine requirements by state:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/states-reopening-many-still-require-215946935.html

I think it's interesting that so many states have quarantine requirements specific to states like NY, where we have things largely under control, and completely ignore the new hot spots.

Apparently Florida just dropped the requirement for Californians.  I find that odd since Los Angeles County and the surrounding area seems to be the worst off right now as a hot spot.  I would imagine that probably has a lot to do with Snow Bird season in sunbelt states like Florida as to why New York was emphasized. 

[Scott5114]

Steven Mnuchin's signature looks like that of a five-year-old. Not that his predecessor Jeop J. Jaul Jacob J. Lew had one that was any better.

Mnuchin's legal signature looks like a simple horizontal line with a couple of slight waves in it, so he had to print it out longhand for the banknotes.

He didn't have to. There is a ceremony whenever a new Treasurer or Secretary of the Treasury is sworn in where they sign a special card (it looks like a diploma) and that's turned over to the BEP to copy onto the engraving plates. If Mnuchin drew a dick on the card, then that'd ostensibly be what's printed on the right half of the bills.

The Bush administration used to bring out a gigantic $10 bill, the size of those novelty checks, and have them sign that.

President Obama brought a bit of levity to the process by making fun of Treasury Secretary nominee Jacob Lew's signature, which was at the time just a spiral. He joked that he asked Lew to clean it up because otherwise it'd "debase our currency".

It doesn't look like Lew took Obama too seriously.

Steven Mnuchin's signature looks like that of a five-year-old. Not that his predecessor Jeop J. Jaul Jacob J. Lew had one that was any better.

I thought messy signatures were a sign of importance. The messier it gets, the higher up you probably are, or at least think you are.

I've found that mine's actually gotten neater as I've gotten older, simply because I've practiced signing my name quickly while maintaining legibility. It baffles my coworkers, most of whom just scribble to get it done faster.

I hope my signature getting neater doesn't mean I'm getting less important as I get older. By age 65 I'd be signing in perfect Series E(M) and not even my vacuum cleaner would take me seriously.

I despise getting prepaid debit cards, as it's always a pain to get the random loose change off of it when the card is nearly exhausted. Asking a cashier to charge 39¢ on one debit card and the remainder on another is mortifyingly assholish. I usually try to do this at a self-checkout when it's not busy. Of course, the other option is to simply forfeit the unused change value and discard it, but that's what the card issuer wants...

Hmm. I can't say I've ever used 2 debit cards for the same purchase, but I have used 2 gift cards on various occasions, and thought nothing of it. I guess I'm not sure what the difference is (if any) from a cashier standpoint, but I've never felt like it was that terrible or embarrassing of a thing to do. It happens.

I don't know that it's necessarily much effort on the cashier's end. Mostly what I want to avoid is holding up the line by waiting for two separate transactions to authorize. I'd definitely feel better about that if I were, say, using two cards for ten dollars each. But one being a piddling amount of change feels like I'm wasting everyone's time.

I'd rather have a paper check to take to the bank and commingle with the rest of my money.

[webny99]

I hope my signature getting neater doesn't mean I'm getting less important as I get older. By age 65 I'd be signing in perfect Series E(M) and not even my vacuum cleaner would take me seriously.

LOL... 

I despise getting prepaid debit cards, as it's always a pain to get the random loose change off of it when the card is nearly exhausted. Asking a cashier to charge 39¢ on one debit card and the remainder on another is mortifyingly assholish. I usually try to do this at a self-checkout when it's not busy. Of course, the other option is to simply forfeit the unused change value and discard it, but that's what the card issuer wants...

Hmm. I can't say I've ever used 2 debit cards for the same purchase, but I have used 2 gift cards on various occasions, and thought nothing of it. I guess I'm not sure what the difference is (if any) from a cashier standpoint, but I've never felt like it was that terrible or embarrassing of a thing to do. It happens.

I don't know that it's necessarily much effort on the cashier's end. Mostly what I want to avoid is holding up the line by waiting for two separate transactions to authorize. I'd definitely feel better about that if I were, say, using two cards for ten dollars each. But one being a piddling amount of change feels like I'm wasting everyone's time.
I'd rather have a paper check to take to the bank and commingle with the rest of my money.

Yeah, I guess when we're talking about pennies it almost takes more than the cashier's time is worth to collect the 39¢ or whatever. Plus, if there's a line, keeping people waiting doesn't bring positive vibes, and people might start thinking you or the cashier are just being slow.

[tradephoric]

On April 10th during the worst of the outbreak, New York was reporting 69,179 weekly confirmed cases.  Since then weekly confirmed cases have dropped to 9,212 (an 87% reduction).  Compare that to California which on April 10th had 8,797 weekly confirmed cases and now has 18,156 cases (a 106% increase).  Right now California has roughly double the weekly confirmed cases as New York and they also have roughly double the population.  Short of a large herd immunity present in NY that is preventing new cases, you would expect the cases per capita to remain consistent between the two states moving forward.  So if New York were to jump back up to 70k weekly cases in their "˜second wave' California may see 140k weekly cases in their "˜second.... or depending how you look at it first wave'. 


https://aatishb.com/covidtrends/?scale=linear&region=US&doublingtime=3&location=California&location=New+York

[wanderer2575]

I despise getting prepaid debit cards, as it's always a pain to get the random loose change off of it when the card is nearly exhausted. Asking a cashier to charge 39¢ on one debit card and the remainder on another is mortifyingly assholish. I usually try to do this at a self-checkout when it's not busy. Of course, the other option is to simply forfeit the unused change value and discard it, but that's what the card issuer wants...

Hmm. I can't say I've ever used 2 debit cards for the same purchase, but I have used 2 gift cards on various occasions, and thought nothing of it. I guess I'm not sure what the difference is (if any) from a cashier standpoint, but I've never felt like it was that terrible or embarrassing of a thing to do. It happens.

I don't know that it's necessarily much effort on the cashier's end. Mostly what I want to avoid is holding up the line by waiting for two separate transactions to authorize. I'd definitely feel better about that if I were, say, using two cards for ten dollars each. But one being a piddling amount of change feels like I'm wasting everyone's time.

I'd rather have a paper check to take to the bank and commingle with the rest of my money.

If you're going to go to the bank either way, note that with a branded (Visa or MasterCard logo) paycard or prefunded general-purpose debit card, you can walk into any Visa- or MasterCard-member bank and withdraw any amount from the account, down to the last penny, with no fee and no account relationship at that bank required. 

At least, that's Visa and MasterCard's rule -- there are still some banks and some bank tellers who don't know it or won't observe it, particularly the part about no account relationship required.

[SEWIGuy]

It really isn't that much effort to run two debit cards when checking out of a grocery store or some such.  I don't know why people are overthinking this.

[kphoger]

It really isn't that much effort to run two debit cards when checking out of a grocery store or some such.  I don't know why people are overthinking this.

People do it all the time with food stamp cards, paying the remaining balance with a credit/debit card.

[oscar]

For a little good news (kind of) from yesterday's Washington Post, Canada's arctic Nunavut Territory remains the only coronavirus-free state-level jurisdiction in the U.S. and Canada. Its only reported Covid-19 case was determined to be a false positive.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-canada-nunavut-inuit-first-nations/2020/05/31/5bd6aeec-9f74-11ea-be06-af5514ee0385_story.html (may be paywalled)

But don't think of fleeing there to escape the virus. Severe travel restrictions, including 14-day quarantines in other territories and provinces before residents are allowed to return to Nunavut (even the territory's representative in the House of Commons), help keep Nunavut virus-free. Social distancing measures, including face masks, are an additional safeguard just in case the virus somehow manages to sneak in.

[Duke87]

It really isn't that much effort to run two debit cards when checking out of a grocery store or some such.  I don't know why people are overthinking this.

People do it all the time with food stamp cards, paying the remaining balance with a credit/debit card.

The thing to be careful with is that if it is a debit card, the cashier needs to specifically make a charge for the remaining balance. Anything over will result in the card being declined and, depending on the terms, an overdraft fee being incurred.

This is distinct from credit-based gift cards which require no such effort on the part of the cashier - they will simply cap out at the remaining balance, and the POS system will respond by telling you you still owe the difference.

[Scott5114]

I despise getting prepaid debit cards, as it's always a pain to get the random loose change off of it when the card is nearly exhausted. Asking a cashier to charge 39¢ on one debit card and the remainder on another is mortifyingly assholish. I usually try to do this at a self-checkout when it's not busy. Of course, the other option is to simply forfeit the unused change value and discard it, but that's what the card issuer wants...

Hmm. I can't say I've ever used 2 debit cards for the same purchase, but I have used 2 gift cards on various occasions, and thought nothing of it. I guess I'm not sure what the difference is (if any) from a cashier standpoint, but I've never felt like it was that terrible or embarrassing of a thing to do. It happens.

I don't know that it's necessarily much effort on the cashier's end. Mostly what I want to avoid is holding up the line by waiting for two separate transactions to authorize. I'd definitely feel better about that if I were, say, using two cards for ten dollars each. But one being a piddling amount of change feels like I'm wasting everyone's time.

I'd rather have a paper check to take to the bank and commingle with the rest of my money.

If you're going to go to the bank either way, note that with a branded (Visa or MasterCard logo) paycard or prefunded general-purpose debit card, you can walk into any Visa- or MasterCard-member bank and withdraw any amount from the account, down to the last penny, with no fee and no account relationship at that bank required. 

At least, that's Visa and MasterCard's rule -- there are still some banks and some bank tellers who don't know it or won't observe it, particularly the part about no account relationship required.

This is good to know, and something I'll try the next time i get one.

It really isn't that much effort to run two debit cards when checking out of a grocery store or some such.  I don't know why people are overthinking this.

It's not about effort. It's about being considerate to the people in line behind me and not holding them up if it's not strictly necessary.

[formulanone]

It really isn't that much effort to run two debit cards when checking out of a grocery store or some such.  I don't know why people are overthinking this.

It's not that big of a deal for most POS systems, maybe an extra 30 seconds. Of course, you have to do it in the right order, and to not hold up the line while you tell the clerk to cancel the previous transaction so you can spend $1.23 on one card and then re-do the other one.

Remembering your exact balance is the tougher part...I'll type the remaining value from a gift card in my phone but then go home and use a Sharpie to write the balance on it.

[webny99]

Remembering your exact balance is the tougher part...I'll type the remaining value from a gift card in my phone but then go home and use a Sharpie to write the balance on it.

If you're lucky, the cashier might do it for you. It's handy when they do this for gift cards.

(Forum Post# 799,999!  )

[Max Rockatansky]

Remembering your exact balance is the tougher part...I'll type the remaining value from a gift card in my phone but then go home and use a Sharpie to write the balance on it.

If you're lucky, the cashier might do it for you. It's handy when they do this for gift cards.

(Forum Post# 799,999!  )

They might be able to do that with in house gift cards, but pre-paid debit cards and third party gift cards?

[webny99]

Remembering your exact balance is the tougher part...I'll type the remaining value from a gift card in my phone but then go home and use a Sharpie to write the balance on it.

If you're lucky, the cashier might do it for you. It's handy when they do this for gift cards.
(Forum Post# 799,999!  )

They might be able to do that with in house gift cards, but pre-paid debit cards and third party gift cards?

Not sure - as I mentioned upthread, I've only ever done this with gift cards, and it never occurred to me that people might be doing it with debit cards, too.

[Max Rockatansky]

Gyms, bars, and schools will be able to reopen in California starting next week:

https://ktla.com/news/california/california-to-allow-schools-gyms-and-bars-to-reopen-next-week/

I do plan on finishing a round of garage weight training routines next week in addition to seeing how the pace of the gym is.  I'll post my thoughts whenever I get the opportunity to go back. 

Apparently Camping and some sports are part of the same thing. 

https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/health/2020/06/05/california-allow-reopening-schools-day-camps-bars-gyms-some-sports-starting-next-week/3158637001/

[jakeroot]

In Washington State, Pierce County (Tacoma, surrounding suburbs) has entered phase 2. Bit earlier than I would have expected, honestly, but I doubt much will change in terms of how people will go about their daily life. Thurston County (Olympia, WA's capital, and surrounding suburbs) has been in phase 2 for a bit, and from what I've heard, restaurants and pubs have remained well below their capacity cap.