What's it all about, Alfie?

About a week ago, I got my latest Moderna COVID Booster - with the Flu Shot chaser, and I wanted to get Walgreens, my Insurance Company, and my Doctor a chance for all the bits to be pushed around, so that I could update my COVID Vaccination Card in my iOS Wallet. Today was the day.

I had done this before, but it was a while back, and so I expected a similar smooth operation, and they didn't disappoint. 🙂 I went to my Doctor's website, they had a button to pull up the COVID Proof, and I could refresh the records to show all four shots, and then get a QR Code. Pull that up in the camera, and click the link, and Bam! It's in. Just as easy as I remembered.

But the surprise is that I was able to link my iPhone's Health App to my Doctor's back-end system and receive updates, etc. Now I know there will be plenty of folks saying this isn't safe, or secure, but honestly - nothing really is - not with computers these days, as I've worked with the devs writing this code... and if anyone is going to try really hard to keep it secure, it's the largish Medical Groups, and Apple - so I feel pretty good about it.

But it's really nice to do the Auth within the Health App, and get the 2FA, and then link my Doctor's records about me to my Phone. Why? Because when I need it most - knowing that I have a Doctor - like when I'm in an accident - will really help the folks trying to help me... even when I can't speak.

And the way it so smoothly integrated with iOS... maybe I'm just jaded from my work in the field, but that was done well... and with a lot of attention to details. Very nice. 🙂

Today it was time to get the latest Moderna COVID Booster, and back it up with the standard Flu Shot. It's been a while since my last booster, and with the new variants, it was clearly time to schedule a visit to Walgreens just down the street, where it's so easy to get the hosts.

So in a few weeks, I'll be all set for Thanksgiving which is about my only social event of the Fall, and I'll be safe from the worst of it. Science is a good thing. 🙂

I just read in Apple News that CNN is reporting that Johns Hopkins University is reporting a 300% increase in COVID-19 new cases on Labor Day 2021 over Labor Day 2020 - which is not a good sign given the way Fall 2020 went... it does not bode well for this coming Fall. I know that the situation is not the same - so many are vaccinated, and this has really become a pandemic of the unvaccinated, but it's scary to see three times as many new cases as a year ago.

I worry that the rise in deaths that lags the rise in new cases is going to mean that the next month, or so, is shaping up to be bad news... And the truth is that the new cases are just the start of the progression... there really is no way to stop the cases that have already taken hold, it's just got to play out. And those cases will lead to others...

It's a crazy situation...

This year of the coronavirus is going to yield a lot of firsts, and today is one for the record books. Today, the price for Crude Oil May 20 future dropped to -$1.43. Yup... you get the oil and $1.43 from the seller. That's similar to the negative interest rates we've seen in Europe, but thankfully haven't hit the US yet.

I've never been a commodities trader, but still... to see the OPEC/Russia price war in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic is wild enough... but to see the demand drop, and the price plummet... that's just amazing. I still find it hard to believe.

This year is going to be a wild one to tell stories about! 🙂

UPDATE: as I watched the rest of the day, they actially bottomed out at -$38.47/bbl... that's stunning to me. Sure, it's May 2020 delivery, and that's right around the corner, and the storage tanks are all full, so it's got to be moved somewhere... but I never thought I'd see more production than demand.

We are heading into week 5 of the lock-down, and things are really settling in to a routine with the isolation. There is a lot of material to read - some is good, some is fluff, and some is outright dangerous. But that's the purpose of being a critical thinker. If you believe what you read from one source, and don't hear it repeated - ever... well... then it's likely something someone wanted to be true, but wasn't. People make mistakes, and that's fine - but we can't get carried away these days.

I've really enjoyed finding Gitpod - it's the web-based development environment where you can build your own Docker containers for development, and you get a pseudo-VisualCode editor to work in. It's pretty much exactly what I was looking for to code Clojure on my iPad. There's no way Apple would allow a real JVM-based environment on the iPad, and as long as I have some kind of network connection, which is pretty universal these days, so it's not bad. And the ability to customize the Docker image is really very nice... so that's a great find in the last week.

There is an understandable increase in pressure at The Shop - people are seeing that this is going to last a while, and they need to make sure that things that were planned for 2020 need to get done in 2020 - even with the pandemic. It's understandable... companies make plans, and those plans are decades-long, in some cases... and so having to throw away 2020 would be a real issue. So the pressure ramps up. I get it.

But things aren't changing just because you increase the pressure. Everyone responds differently, and if we're all going to make it through this, it's better to show a little kindness and compassion, and take things a little slower.

So we fumble along, one step at a time... staying indoors as much as possible, hoping that the numbers fall off quickly, but knowing that's not really how this is going to end: quickly... and hope for the best.

In most regards, things are settling into a predictable routine. I'm not saying things are normal, but they are becoming a new normal, and while there is a lot to be concerned about, it's something that we all seem to be settling into... most of the time.

Today I had an exchange with some folks, and their nerves are clearly a little frayed, and they aren't handling the stress very well. It's hard to remember that in these times of stress - for whatever reason, people need to be given a little more tolerance. They don't realize they are lashing out at the people trying to help them. They aren't doing it on purpose - they may not even realize they are doing it at all.

I went to write a little code at repl.it, and I could edit the code, but it wasn't runing my Clojure projects. Probably something they've added lately, and I don't have to have it today, but it sure would have been nice.

Some day this is going to end... and we need to be clear with ourselves "What kind of people will we be?"... I hope to get better at that answer.

It's been a wild start to Week 3 of the shelter-in-place/WFH time, and things are slowing down to achieve a new normal that we'll have while we are all respecting the social distancing, and slowing the spread as much as possible. It's going to be a while yet, as the number of confirmed cases still appears to be accelerating, and the hospitals are still struggling, and the isolation measures are being extended. It's going to be a while.

Still... in the midst of all this, there are some really nice things to see. Some folks at The Shop are trying to keep things as "normal" as possible, and while I may not love every Pet Pic, it's nice to see people sticking together, and still having a sense of humor. And work is trying to be done, yes... slower, but still moving.

This is going to be a change for a lot of things, but it's going to get better.

Two weeks down, and it's clear from the graphs of confirmed cases by the CDC, and now the New York Times, that this is in full-swing, and it's unlikely we'll see the end of this acceleration for at least a couple of weeks, and the real safety will be months away. But that's what happens in a pandemic, so we do the best we can with what we have, and hope that the hospitals aren't over-run.

This week at The Shop was a little slower than the past week, and I've taken to marking my ToDo list weeks with the ? emoji, just to remind me of the weeks where we were all WFH and so it'd be understandable why things dropped off a little. It looks like The Shop is offering leaves for those that want it - due to sickness, or family issues - all related to what we are all going through these days. Kinda nice.

I keep busy, so it's not all bad. I'm still doing the same things, so it's nice to know that even in a pandemic, people are people, and the craziness that I've known for years didn't evaporate. 🙂

Today has been interesting because some folks are starting to show some really strain about all the forced confinement of the shelter-in-place orders from the local states. I know it can be tough... going out just feels risky now, and I'm profoundly grateful that I don't have to. But some aren't handling it well, and they aren't reaching out for the help they need.

It manifests itself in any number of ways, and I make sure yo make myself available for these people - to talk, or video chat, or listen... It's the little things that we can all do to help those that are struggling a little in this wild, crazy time. What I never imagined was that I would be one of the people offering comfort to someone else. This is a reversal I would never have seen coming.

On the up-side, things are going well at The Shop, and work is proceeding, at some sense of pace, to move forward. People generally are being kind to one another... there's a ton of pet pictures on Slack, and people are making shared Hnagouts to meet, casually, as a group. It's the evolution of what we have to do.

It's hard to imagine that this could go on for months... but the data from other countries is clear - this needs to stay in place for 4 to 8 weeks, and that helps to spread out the curve and buy time. Crazy days indeed.

Things are really escalating now... the Governor of Illinois is talking about issuing a shelter-in-place order for the entire State. That's some serious stuff. We will still be able to go to the grocery store, and drive-thru food, etc. but the casual trips out, and the large collections of people are over for now.

This has been a little creepy for me, but I'm able to take care of things, get food, and while there is rationing happening at the grocery store: 1 gal of milk... 1 bread item... 1 paper product... it's not horrible, and the point is that it's just temporary, and as soon as the trucks and logistics get geared up, then we'll be able to see normal supply again.

But for now... it's stepped up to the next phase, and it'll be a while before things get back to normal.