immune to bombast

"...therefore the plague much greater than people take it to be." diary of samuel pepys. 30 august 1665

so much for "rarin' to go by easter"...so much for actually knowing what is transpiring in the contagion world...i am fairly well convinced that either the powers that be are clueless about the extent...

or they are keeping quiet because there is enough panic already...either way the extent is an unknown and will probably remain so if indeed a majority of the cases are "mild" and go unreported/tested or even pass unnoticed by those who are ill...

certainly johns hopkins has the freshest numbers i have found so far and these show a staggering minority of the population anywhere with the disease...fresh probably doesn't mean exact...still a better guide than the cdc...that the virus is here for an extended stay seems obvious...the question is what will the reaction be? is the governor of this state going to follow the federal lead and leave large numbers of citizens locked out of their jobs? this is the thirteenth day i have been on an enforced leave..my financial position is fairly solid ( however, not unassailable )...some of my peers are not so fortunate...the workplace we shared was their second, or, possibly, third job and they are doubtlessly struggling after a two week hiatus ( and who knows how their other jobs have been impacted ) and if the "social distancing" ( who makes these terms up? ) continues will the "essential" jobs remain "essential"? will gun stores still be open? take out food? both of critical importance in this crisis, however you have to draw the line somewhere and the economy will certainly militate towards a "return to work"...the engine of consumption is breaking down ( i have not spent any money it two days and i am thinking today will be the third )...look at the price of a gallon of gasoline if you need a frame of reference ( or a barrel of oil which is at $21.51 last time i looked...$.391 a gallon..russia's economy is unsettled...every economy is unsettled...what will "the market" do today? i am told the asian markets are down because of "fears of a global pandemic"...perhaps well founded "fears" )...so i will be looking in on the statehouse news today looking to see what the government of this state does as it tears its hair out over the dilemma of "stay at home and staunch the spread", or "rarin' to go by easter"...look for updates.