Life under martial law, sort of...

[jetmex]

It was bound to happen.  Harris County went on the famous "stay home" order as of last night.  It's not as bad as it sounds, though some people are taking it too literally.  All entertainment venues, schools and restaurants are closed, as are the playgrounds at all the parks, though you can still go to the park.  Which doesn't really help all the parents with kids now at home who no longer have access to day care, because they're closed also.  I wonder now how they're going to waive or make up the two and half months of school that will be missed if they cancel the rest of the year.  Yesterday afternoon, all the teachers from the school the grandkids attend got in their cars and did a parade around the neighborhood to let the kids know they were still important.  It was pretty neat.

Arriving to work this morning was a little eerie.  We should be right in the midst of spring break, instead, there are long lines of airplanes parked on taxiways out here.  It's quiet, few airplanes arriving or departing.  There was absolutely no one in the terminal when I walked in; reminded me of the hurricanes and 9/11.  I was handed a company letter stating that I was in an essential industry so please don't arrest me for being out and about.  I'm supposed to carry it with me.  Vy yes, I haff my papers Herr Kommissar!!

I am now eligible for senior day at Wally World!  From 6-7am on Tuesdays, anyone over 60 can get in and shop ahead of the heathen hordes that will arrive later.  I got there at 6:03 and the parking lot was already full.  Got toilet paper for the kids and a few of the things I couldn't find earlier because everyone is worried about the zombie apocalypse.  I figure those people will starve to death in houses full of toilet paper because they forgot to get food....

Hope this thing ends soon.  There are probably pay cuts and furloughs coming, but right now I'm worried about the company going after the PBGC to get access to our pension fund.  I'm planning on riding this thing out, but there may be an early retirement in my future.

How are all of you doing?

[balsum fractus]

Surprising, being retired, and being winter, makes it pretty easy to stay at home. I get out once a day to take the dog for a walk, and spend the rest of my time in my shop... others, I know, are not so fortunate.
People are pretty much complying, but some of these "authorities" that we are supposed to listen to, are taking this waaaay to seriously! It should be over soon......

[Onepoint]

Yeah, I have been doing social distancing even before it was cool.   Vicki has been to town everyday though with her mother in the hospital, they moved her to a nursing home now that has a no visitor policy in place, so she can come home when done with the mail route, which is an essential service so they keep telling her.

This time of year I am hermited up anyway, but did venture to town for some feed and bolts etc yesterday, it was kind of tense, everyone seemed a little on edge, and shortages of some stuff was noticeable.  It doesn't help that people some guy standing in the check out is telling another guy he just got back with his girlfriend from 2 days in the Bahamas 5 days ago, I'm guessing probably spring break or cheap airfare enticed him or something.

I think everyone around him either leaned away or stepped back when he said that .   He said they only stayed a couple days and came back early because no one was there and lot of it was closed up. No shit, ya think?  The other guy asked him if he caught anything while there and he said no laughing it off.  I was thinking at one time that would have been appropriate talking about the clap, now it's a little more serious.

The entire state of CO has also done a stay at home order.  Which I am sure those rural communities appreciate immensely.

[stetto]

Hunkered down here in the Soviet Socialist "Republic" of Minnesnowtakstan. Went to the hardware store yesterday too, pretty eyebrow raising some of the stuff that's been made a run on. Birdseed? Seriously?

Some old buffoon with an obvious respiratory ailment was wandering tge store, violating people's space. It was actually comical how some reacted to this poor slob lookin' to have some fun. They did have an LEO escort him out after a time.

I drove by a rural convenience store on the way home, a grocery supply truck was backed up to the load bay, and 30 or so people standing around the back of it. This is getting out of hand, even here in the Sticks. MN has a preponderance of the mind numbed institutionally ignorant, but I had no idea so many of them lived out here. It explains who they choose to elect to public office...

We're down to a half dozen rolls of cheap 1 ply TP, with no hope of resupply.

And Timmy "Hoffa" Waltz, our beloved retarded little mobster governor, has now chosen to join the panic mongers in declaring a lockdown on the state. Cynicism aside, I do not see this ending well...and not from this politihyped virus, either.

[jetmex]

The fun continues here.  We had 7500 passengers fly through here yesterday.  Normally this is spring break and we have 50-60,000 go through.  We're parking 425 airplanes in the next week, which is roughly half the fleet.  Estimates now are that we may not be back to somewhat full schedule until August, and probably not back to where we were a month ago until next year.  Whoever dreamed up all this idiocy sure as hell didn't plan on the consequences.  The pic below shows what a stalled economy looks like...

[stetto]

The fun continues here.  We had 7500 passengers fly through here yesterday.  Normally this is spring break and we have 50-60,000 go through.  We're parking 425 airplanes in the next week, which is roughly half the fleet.  Estimates now are that we may not be back to somewhat full schedule until August, and probably not back to where we were a month ago until next year.  Whoever dreamed up all this idiocy sure as hell didn't plan on the consequences.  The pic below shows what a stalled economy looks like...

Jaime, I believe they knew very, very well.

What I think they didn't plan for is the consequences to them.

[Onepoint]

I  Think when the virus crisis is past, and the fall out from this national shut down emerges, a lot of people in power are going to be more fearful than now, for multiple reasons.

[balsum fractus]

Trouble is there are so many mindless minions that actually believe the hype...........

[stetto]

Nobody reads through the whole thing. Typical governmental claptrap designed to maintain an atmosphere of fear and....more fear. My kid wants to come by and do his laundry, but he's afraid of the $1000 fine and 90 day jail sentence.

https://www.miia.org/Resources/SiteAssets/Pages/default/Stay%20at%20Home%20EO%20032520.pdf

And they are trying to open prison gates and set the people who belong there free. No doubt they'll be issuing sidearms to them on their way out...

I have a couple close friends, staunch "individualists", who are starting to succumb to this boolshit. The constant hammering is having the desired effect on some folks I'd never have believed...

[balsum fractus]

Adolf would be proud!!

[Onepoint]

The same thing happens every time people are scared, they "have to do something", even if its wrong and pointless, as long as they can see 'something' being done they are relieved. Govt of course is happy to further its power, claiming to help while taking your power away.

[jetmex]

Day 4, (and thankfully Friday) of what has to be the weirdest week of my aviation career.  We're up to 85 parked airplanes, with more arriving each day.  The airport has closed off several taxiways to make room for them, and if you want to see an air force the size that some small countries possess, just stop by Houston.   What really rattles me is the quiet - no airplane noise, no roar of people yelling in the terminal.  The PA announcements echo off the wall like you're in a big cave.  Since there aren't thousands of bodies running through, the AC has turned the entire building into a huge icebox - it's cold out there inside.  There are a few restaurants open, mainly catering to the employees who are still here.  The ramp and gate people are worried, since there are no flights there is nothing for them to do and the hour reductions have already started for them.  We're more fortunate here in maintenance because even though all those airplanes are parked, they still require a lot of work to keep them in flying condition.  Houston is a miserable place to long term store airplanes because of the heat and humidity.  That wreaks havoc on structures and electronics, and you should see the mess it leaves if the ramp neglects to dump the lavatories and water systems.  Occasionally, catering forgets to take the food off, too.  We're also sending a bunch of planes to Roswell, NM, so the aliens can have a good look at them.

There are dozens of state troopers and local cops in the parking garages and at arrival gates, looking for people arriving from New York and Louisiana They've been restricted from entering the state and if they do, they're supposed to self quarantine for 14 days.  There is supposedly a fine for non compliance.  As usual, there are also dozens of TSA agents getting a leisurely vacation on our dime, thus living up to their acronym, Thousands Standing Around.  A newspaper paper article I read this morning told of the governor of Rhode Island using their state troopers and the national guard to hunt down people door to door from New York so they can be quarantined.  That sent chills down my spine, what could be next?

Bright side of all this - I've been told by the grandkids that an epic nerf war is my future...

Hope you guys don't mind my venting....

[balsum fractus]

Yeah, junior has taken a large pay cut in trade for some short term job security. He is flying down to Kansas with 6 other 767's tomorrow to park them...

We are doing fine here.....able to get basic necessities, and, since it is so fricken cold out there, have no reason to leave home.

[Onepoint]

For me I hardly notice, its calving season, so I am usually tied to home anyway.

Yeah I bet that is really odd in places that bustle, but even here in the small towns, Vicki says its as dead as 2am Thursday, during the day. Parking?  No problem, waiting on lights no problem for any time of the day.   Main street Torrington has about a half dozen businesses open, and those have signs  "call ahead" or "delivery only".  Plexiglass barrier on many of the checkout lanes ,  even in the farm stores, and tape lines to space everyone apart.   Its truly surreal.

Torrington reported its 1st case, woman went to Deadood SD to gamble a couple weeks ago, and brought us all a gift back.   I can understand why they are restricting travel from hot spots, people are scared and fleeing, not even caring if they are infected or not.  Can't say as I blame them when reports are NYC hospitals are already overwhelmed and you may get to roll the dice of being valued enough to get treatment, so if you are sick, better to be sick in other cities less effected is the thinking, creating the same problem where they go to.   Kind of the same plague spread Californians are on the country normally.   But then states like CO that shut it all down, when you really need the relatively uninfected places to support the places that truly need locked down, always someone in govt to over react and make more problems.

Truly the world is changing before our eyes, hard to grasp the extent, and I suspect most people is thinking this will be over soon and back to the way it was, but I suspect there will be some of this that will be the new normal, even if our economy survives.

[balsum fractus]

A short stop-motion video my son made of the approach into Kansas City to put another airliner into storage.

https://youtu.be/rpQF5vn0M6k