Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@themcnoisy yeah I can’t imagine having had kids to deal with during all this 😂 you’ll feel great getting back to work. Then after a couple of weeks you’ll wish you enjoyed the time off a bit more!

Big push until Christmas!

@kyleforrester87 Got a holiday to Greece, End of August - it was originally a wedding which has since changed dates. So that's not too far off.

Kids are great, the first month was fantastic tbh. Recently it has become a lot harder, homework not being done properly, kids not telling me about a zoom meeting with school, not being as motivated (both kids and myself) etc. Its like the final week of the school 6 week holidays when it's been too long and your routine is fubar.

Initially it took a bit of nudging to get good quality work done. That's all changed now. Without school there's no real consequence especially for my 12 year old. He's less intelligent anyway, preferring sport and socialising. So yeah it's way harder now.

@themcnoisy You 100% committed to Greece as it stands? Haven't had a holiday in over 10 years myself. I fancy going to Japan for 6-8 weeks in the not too distant future.

@kyleforrester87 it depends, if covid tails off I'm going with gusto. If it keeps bubbling with no end in sight and regular major flare ups. Then yes it's worrying. But it's through Tui so shouldn't be an issue changing it to 2021 in that scenario.

I visited Japan in 2001. I had a few things planned and enjoyed it, wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Japan is suffocating and people, people everywhere.

Would do it differently if I ever revisited, maybe on a guided gaming / developer tour rather than buying tickets in advance and stressing all the time travelling 100 miles here and there.

I spent 4 weeks in Japan when I was travelling, it's amazing. What I highly suggest, if they still do it, is to get the train pass. Only available to tourists, and I think you have to buy it before you go. It's expensive (£400 for a month if I remember right), but you can just hop on any train, going anywhere, for free, without prior booking, including the Tokyo metro. The trains are brilliant, and you can get everywhere with them.

Then I just winged my way around, I don't really like crowds of people, but it's real easy to get off the track a bit with that train pass. But try to avoid their public holidays, because then it gets busy.

There you go, it does still exist: https://japanrailpass.net/en/

@phil_j thanks, I was recommended this by someone else too, it does sound like the way to do it!

About to bring to a close a year long software project and go live in the middle of lock down. Bit tired of all this now.

Also, this whole Cummings thing has got me annoyed (for UK readers that is - essentially the main Govt advisor/mastermind broke qurantine rules several times). I wasn't calling for a lynching when it first came out, just expected an apology etc. but the handling of this and the absolute lying from our government is just flabbergasting. I shouldn't be surprised but... meah.

Walked past a group of 30/40 yr olds on technically a private field drinking beers and eating food who kept shouting out 'we're social distancing' to people walking past while they shared food and beer from the same cool boxes. Sigh

@phil_j @kyleforrester87 That wasn't an option when I visited, that kind of train pass is essential in Japan.

@Rudy_Manchego not much you can do about them Rudy. It's why now we need kids in school to be monitored, we have probably all seen groups of teenagers hanging around. Grown ups acting stupid is unacceptable, what Cummings did was insane (and should go) - however he wasn't having a party with strangers who will then party in another party. That's a lot worse for everyone!

The problem with covid is the victims have no voice (or are dead), compared to the vocal minority of plebs. This 20% of scum need to contract it ASAP to save decent folk when we properly reopen on the 15th.

@Rudy_Manchego The Cummings thing is a load of nonsense really. I didn't vote for the Tories but with everyone complaining about this issue as a matter of "fairness", many of them being Tory voters... with their track record, THIS is the issue that seems most unfair to you is it? Whatever you say!! I have to say, the media have largely lost the plot. They are insatiable right now, and what with the virus being unavailable for interviews they'll be blowing whatever else they can out of proportion.

Cummings is a total and utter b*stard, but he's also a genius. His intelligence and position does, in my opinion, grant him more freedom to make decisions like this than the typical pleb, myself included. It's like me moaning that I don't have Tom Cruise's quality of life. People don't like that idea, but using what he did as an excuse to ignore social distancing (which a lot of people would have done at least once during all of this, I wager) and go for a fifteen deep BBQ down the beach is total nonsense. There seems to be a pig headed unwillingness from many to understand the logic behind the guidelines.

And last of all, if we're to make any kind of success of out of this Brexit shambles, you'll want Cummings onboard.

@kyleforrester87 'Cummings is a total and utter b*stard, but he's also a genius.'

Bit of a stretch calling him a genius.

He's pro Russian, which is probably better going forward - explaining this would take years but with the USA and China about to enter a new cold war we are better forming an economic alliance with Russia and staying the heck out of it. Something Cummings knows and has calculated. It won't be easy but Putins 2nd and 3rd gen politicians should be more sympathetic towards the EU founder states and we just need to get the ball rolling on that relationship.

What I'm worried about in this instance, if Cummings goes and it's left to Johnson, Raab and Patel we will go all in with America. I love America but we really don't need to be the prime target in a lopsided cold war (akin to Cuba / North Korea etc).

What he did was wrong but we've gone this far and from a political point of view with the Conservatives in charge, he really needs to stay.

@themcnoisy Agree 100% mate - I think what those idiots did having a garden party (I think they were members of the local pub footie team as they were wearing the tshirts) is way way worse than Dominic Cummings because there is zero justification for socialising. I get that we are slowly starting to return to work but the whole point is to do it slowly and only in way that benefits society. Opening businesses, shops etc. in the coming weeks will mean coming into contact with more people but that is to benefit society. Having a party with mates isn't and we won't be at a point where we can do that for some time.

@kyleforrester87 I sort of yes and no agree to you. Do I believe that Dominic Cummings (who yes, I detest but can't deny the man has shaped politics to his will) had another level of responsibility given his position? Yes, I do. Do I believe he should have lost his job for it? No. I wouldn't be sacked for it, don't think he should be too. Should he be fined for it as anyone else should and cautioned? Completely.

The thing that annoys me is not so much him but the message the government have sent out. The guy did write the rules and broke three of them by his own admission. He did put others at risk of contracting the virus. When this all broke out, if a quick statement had gone out saying, yeah he was under pressure, didn't know what to do, broke quarantine with the best intentions. Sorry this was a mistake, you can't excuse it and he admits that in retrospect, he should'nt have, story dies within a day, maybe two. I would have a bit of a moan but life goes on.

Instead the actual statement from him and the Government is, technically he did nothing wrong, he was protecting his family and doing something that millions of us wouldn't have been able to or dreamed of doing. He was fully justified in breaking the rules because technically he didn't and the story he came out with for some of the motivations was just ridiculous. The attitude is the issue.

Behavioural experts who worked for Sage are very concerned about the messaging of this. I know some people at our council who are working the track and trace project and they are worried that this contradicts the message they are putting out about self quarantine and regulation if you have symptoms. Sure, the majority of people will be sensible but at the end of the day, if his actions influences only a few people then that is a few people too many.

Rant Over.

Until the next post.

@themcnoisy "What he did was wrong but we've gone this far and from a political point of view with the Conservatives in charge, he really needs to stay."

Pretty much, it wasn't his best moment but getting rid of a top advisor off the back of it just to appease the baying masses would be a really dumb move. Can't say I love the direction the country was heading in as we started the year off, but at least it looked like it might somewhat someday resemble a coherent plan, and he's obviously an integral part to that overall direction.

https://dominiccummings.com/page/1/

I was reading some of that the other day, have a look if you're really really bored lol.

lol reading part of his blog for a job offer...

"In many aspects of government, as in the tech world and investing, brains and temperament smash experience and seniority out of the park.

We want to hire some VERY clever young people either straight out of university or recently out with with extreme curiosity and capacity for hard work.

One of you will be a sort of personal assistant to me for a year — this will involve a mix of very interesting work and lots of uninteresting trivia that makes my life easier which you won’t enjoy. You will not have weekday date nights, you will sacrifice many weekends — frankly it will hard having a boy/girlfriend at all. It will be exhausting but interesting and if you cut it you will be involved in things at the age of ~21 that most people never see.

I don’t want confident public school bluffers. I want people who are much brighter than me who can work in an extreme environment. If you play office politics, you will be discovered and immediately binned."

Where do I apply!!

@Rudy_Manchego A lot of people are talking about the sacrifices they've made by following the guidance, but I think if we're honest the main reason we've all adhered to the guidelines is because we don't want ourselves or our loved ones to get ill and die right? What I mean is, it hasn't been so much a case of us doing our duty honorably and giving a damn about our neighbors in the next county, because we know people largely don't think like that - if they did the world wouldn't have half the problems it has - generally we've just stayed at home because we're paralyzed with fear.

If people really cared you wouldn't see anyone walking around without a face mask, for example, and it’s why we are not all discussing how bad things are in Brazil right now.

So it just seems like some people are on their high horses about this whole affair.

But then I also understand, that given his position and the messaging that yes it was arguably irresponsible, potentially in terms of his actions but certainly with regard to how it was handled initially in the media. I think this comes from a culture within this government to try to rise above these sort of stories, instead of tackling them head on. I commend Cummings and other the other politicians on all sides who are actively working through all of this while many have had the luxury to spectate, but it's no good if their actions make it harder for other doctors, nurses and other key workers.

@kyleforrester87
You might be surprised, there's a lot of people who really seem to struggle with the concept that they might spread a virus that will kill people while not actually showing any of the symptoms themselves. Although I'm sure a lot of the time that comes down to people not wanting to know and constantly filtering that particular fact out. It's amazing how far confirmation bias will go sometimes, especially when it's between that and having to make lots of inconvenient life changes.

@LieutenantFatman I think in reality allot of people are only really concerned with themselves and their own bubble. Obviously Cummings is one of these sorts of people, but you probably need to be a cold hearted b@stard to make the kind of decisions that he does.

@Rudy_Manchego interesting point I read from his blog, which gives some insight as to how he feels communication from the government should be, and why it would appear they dropped the ball/pissed off the media when it came to getting ahead of the issue.

“It’s important when dealing with large organisations to dart around at different levels, not be stuck with formal hierarchies. It will seem chaotic and ‘not proper No10 process’ to some. But the point of this government is to do things differently and better and this always looks messy. We do not care about trying to ‘control the narrative’ and all that New Labour junk and this government will not be run by ‘comms grid’.”

@LN78 lol very good. I do get the anger. I do also think he should apologise. But I do expect a lot of people are guilty of bending the rules a bit too, and perhaps the main motivator for not doing so more wasn’t for the good of the country but for more selfish reasons i.e. not wanting to die!

You’re smarter than most people on here anyway so I’d like to know what you think.

@kyleforrester87 Some people are paralysed with fear, it would probably be the same percentage of people who are actively being idiotic. The 80/20 rule. I honestly don't know anyone to that extent other than the lady running our cafe (probably wanted a break anyway att) and my child minder who has a mum at deaths door.

'We do not care about trying to ‘control the narrative’ and all that New Labour junk and this government will not be run by ‘comms grid’.”

£350 million to the NHS
Get Brexit Done
Stay Alert, Control the Virus
Threatening the BBC with revoking the licence fee

The Prime Minister is also a journalist. That above statement is a ton of BS. That's it Cummings needs to go lol.