The History Kid

It looks pretty enough, but I'm not totally sold on the episodic nature. Ordinarily I wouldn't be opposed, but because I know how Square Enix works...I'll just wait on it. The explanation of controls was a bit off the cuff too, I wasn't too thrilled with that. I dunno, the demo didn't match the hype that I had heard and seen on it.

It depends on your location. New York is absolutely bogged down, but other places are very light. The big problem with U.S. healthcare is price hikes for medication and how policies are written for hospital stays. However, again, the majority of healthcare providers and insurance companies currently have a modified policy on COVID-19. I don't know the specifics, but I know for example in my family (from those who are unemployed to those who have the best coverage) all of them will never see a bill over $100 for COVID-19 related healthcare expenses.

Not entirely. But you aren't totally off point either. Most people who don't have health coverage don't have it for a number of personal reasons. Medicaid coverage is relatively universal and the requirements for it are relatively low. The exemption occurs in the case of felonies and false reporting. In the case of COVID-19, all state plans cover it. The problem is getting the diagnosis.

The new wallet arrived today after it's dad was savagely drowned in water and laundry detergent.

When a boy loves a can of helium very much, he gives it a very special hug..........stop me if you have any questions...

Iran has been force projecting since Q1 FY20. They ramped that up at the beginning of the year and have been sustaining even through the COVID-19 pandemic. How they respond otherwise is new, since the analog for the Middle East would be MERS, not the Spanish Flu - and the data from the MERS pandemic is still incomplete. All of those nations have been impacted by COVID-19. Defense industries operate at a totally different level than the rest of the world. I have always taught on the premise that the Defense sect of any nation generally stands relatively independent from the nation itself. That is, most of them have their own supply chains, their own medical system, their own accountability, and their own means of execution in a crisis that is totally independent of the rest of the nation they serve. You may have noticed that the issues with IS have not subsided, war persists in Afghanistan, and Iran is continuing to ramp up rhetoric against coalition forces in the Middle East. The same is true in North Korea, where it is all but certain that COVID-19 is present, but the use of nuclear-related missile testing persists. To be clear, the Spanish Flu impacted World War I and the inter-war period in massive ways. The first onset of the flu was recorded in Kansas after forces cycled out from the Punitive Expedition. At that time, the emphasis was on a readiness posture in the United States - and therefore news about the flu was limited. By the time the U.S. enters the war, it was effectively dealing with a "contained pandemic" within the Army. Once that unit deployed, the Spanish Flu swept through Europe, and then returned home when soldiers returned to the states. Businesses were shuttered down, stay at home orders were put into place, and a weakening economy was made weaker as a result. The result of this was no power projection due to limitations on finances in the public sector - where most defense originated then (unlike today where it's public, but carries an independent fund across the board). Then shortly after the 1930s and the passing of the flu, certain European nations started to see opportunities to exert themselves to a weakened continent.

One of the things that is being asked of the research community for those of us not in the scientific field is examination of analogs. A lot of us in the History profession were already starting to sound alarms that something was amiss in 2018 - that there was substantial evidence to support economic fallout and potential medical emergencies that were on the near horizon. So now, here we are in 2020. By and large I think that in the current affairs selection of options - most governments are responding about average to these issues. I don't think any "had the number" for anything that's happening though - although, I pose that they could have gotten closer to it if they had paid attention. The next thing to keep an eye out for is downcycling, mobilization, or reformation of force projection by a nation. Iran and North Korea would be where I'd probably be paying the most attention (in that order). We have the roadmap for this current situation, but it is fascinating that so few people are actually reading it.

I keep going back to the My Sherona (My Corona) parody when hearing about it, but I figured the direct approach to titles was better for this. haha. But yes, that's generally the point. Online communities are pretty much the thing that's holding most of the younger generations together right now (and even some of the older, though they're less apprehensive about phone calls). On the job front, it really is an interesting time. There's generally a supply surge in job demand, but few willing to take up the risk with everything that's going on. I'm lucky enough to be right in the comfort slot for most of this finance wise. I did the math today and am still sitting on 370+ hours of leave (keeping in mind I'm emergency essential, so am working from home at regular rate right now), 3 months of pay in savings, and am not encountering any hiccups through DFAS. Again though, that's luck/a blessing. There's plenty of others that have their hands tied right now, and it's a nightmare.

I won't beat around the bush here. We all know by now what is going on. My intent with creating this thread (I'll admit my own guilt) is to provide one main location for the COVID-19 talk. We've been bleeding it out into at least two other threads I know of (like I said I'm guilty). So feel free to post up your thoughts, gripes, observations, opinions, and any other commentary on the matter here. Keep politics off the table - as usual, the rules still apply. Another reason I decided to actually have a thread for this is I may pick out some of the commentary (especially from our North American memberbase) to include in the inevitable historical summary we are going to have to write at work. If that happens, I'll contact those individuals privately (there was going to be a contest, but I got smacked on the hand by my Chain of Command) - but the main reason remains to centralize the conversation a bit more. As always, stay safe, stay well, wash your hands, and if you're sick - stay on your own property.

Correct. It's clinically proven that being outdoors actually does have benefits to preventing or helping with illness. How much is a matter of question and varies - but historically speaking, it was found that when the Spanish Flu gripped the nation (the most comparable thing to what we're dealing with now in terms of impact) patients who were kept outdoors had a better and faster recovery rate. It was also proven that people who were outdoors more had a better built up resistance (not immunity) to that virus. With that being said, many people are being encouraged to go out here when the weather is nice, but to keep adequate distance from people around them (6 feet / 2 meters), wash your hands frequently, and drink plenty of liquids. ...and give History Kid $1. In fact, they might make that a law... =3

What are you talking about? You can go outside just fine and not get sick. In fact the historical precedent indicates bring outside increases your recovery and survival rate. California put in a shelter in place, but that doesn't mean you're actually enforced into your residence. None of the shelter in place orders are true shelter in place orders by definition and law. Whoever said "you can't go outside without worrying for your health" is factually and emphatically wrong.

That was/is here as well. You have the choice of the cable company, or the phone company (who has multiple outlets). But more recently, a fiber company moved in and has been slowly edging out the cable company. That suited me fine, since the cable company refused to connect to my work VPN - or even let me view .mil TLD's. It was absolutely ridiculous. Like I said, the providers aren't slowing down on post...it's more of there's only X amount of space in the tube, and if everyone's crammed in there...well...there's not a lot of room for forward motion. I'm hoping they ditch the cable company soon, it might help.

My ISP kicked us up to 1Gbit Down/Up two weeks ago for free. I hadn't needed it yet, since I haven't been editing any Arc files or anything, but it was nice to know it's there. Unfortunately, I don't think the work side of it would be able to hold up. Cable company that services them just doesn't have their act together when it comes to technology. That's why I switched to fiber.

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