World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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What else to remember from 2020?
I handed over responsibility for my job to a new recruit in Feb so I've had different work responsibilities. All the data thefts and cyber security have been on my agenda. BA and Marriot data losses and recently the SolarWinds issuesOf course Brexit has been on UK agenda all year
Philip wrote: "... All the data thefts and cyber security have been on my agenda. BA and Marriot data losses and recently the SolarWinds issues..."Interesting stuff. Good luck with new responsibilities!
I expected way more panic during the pandemic, like in World War Z or nearly any zombie movie. The actual public reaction, at least in the US, was far beyond my expectation for reality or a fiction story!
Most panic seemed to have taken the toilet paper route :)
Nik wrote: "Most panic seemed to have taken the toilet paper route :)"As per my most recent goodreads blog post...
Right. The toilet paper thing hit close to home. We all have to go. Not knowing what the new administration will do, maybe nationwide lockdowns, I've been stocking up, and looking at the shelves, so are other people. If you have enough food and water, what's the next thing you need? Toilet paper! :-)
Memorable - Space X. Two of SpaceX's launches this year sent astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) — the first orbital crewed missions to lift off from the United States since NASA grounded its space shuttle fleet in 2011.
Philip wrote: "I handed over responsibility for my job to a new recruit in Feb so I've had different work responsibilities. All the data thefts and cyber security have been on my agenda. BA and Marriot data losse..."Clearly, a cyber-expert.
Toilet paper wasn't the only shortage - also rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, actually any type of paper product (paper towels and even kleenex were scarce) and any type of immune system booster was wiped out as well (like airborne, vitamin c and zinc) were totally off the shelves. Could not get most of those products for months and with covid spikes some of those products are still hard to come by in certain areas.
My main memory from 2020 was, during the lockdown, the main highway that runs along the bottom of the hill on which I live was almost empty. The other thing I recall was the emphasis on social distancing, at least initially. At the end of 2020, the lockdown had worked, and everyone was back to normal.The biggest store shortages were things like flour, not because there wasn't any, but there was a shortage of small packaging. With the closing of small bakeries, etc, people started baking, and while bakeries take flour in 20 kg drums, householders do not. There was plenty of toilet paper in the country, but stores had to ration how much you could take simply because the store shelves were not big enough for the demand from hoarders.
Ian wrote: "My main memory from 2020 was, during the lockdown, the main highway that runs along the bottom of the hill on which I live was almost empty. The other thing I recall was the emphasis on social dist..."I wonder if the hoarders have had to re-stock yet?
The supermarket I go to was ready for them. They had a big row of shelving in the most prominent place devoted to Christmas stuff, but either demand was higher than expected or supply down (which it would be for imported stuff) so with a week to Christmas about half of this shelving was now filled with, er, toilet paper :-)
Toilet paper shelves here are almost empty. Since the national lock down, I've been buying a pack every time I go to the store, in case there's another national lock down. It seems other people are worried about that, too. And if it doesn't happen, you just can't have too much tp :-)
Scout wrote: "Toilet paper shelves here are almost empty. Since the national lock down, I've been buying a pack every time I go to the store, in case there's another national lock down. It seems other people are..."Bizarre.
Scout wrote: "Toilet paper shelves here are almost empty. Since the national lock down, I've been buying a pack every time I go to the store, in case there's another national lock down. It seems other people are..."In the past, the only force capable of creating a shortage of toilet paper was communism. Now we can add pandemics to that short list.
Scout wrote: "Toilet paper shelves here are almost empty. Since the national lock down, I've been buying a pack every time I go to the store, in case there's another national lock down. It seems other people are..."It is when everyone does it that there is a shortage :-)
Graeme wrote: "In the past, the only force capable of creating a shortage of toilet paper was communism...."There were tons of propaganda newspapers for an emergency back up, to a degree that maybe in some areas there was little demand for a tp in the first place... :)
I get my TP on Amazon subscribe and save. So when it all started I didn't reduce my order, which I had planned to do as my son had moved out. I ended up now with a case in the storage room and a case on my shelf (32 rolls per case). I get kleenex/tissues once a year and that came without a problem, along with my paper towels. But, locally on the shevles I have seen it all come and go. On the other hand, I remember when living in small towns we couldn't get half the stuff in groceries that now exist on an every day basis. Now, the prices of all those things have increased dramatically in the past year, which doesn't help the situation.
I want to remember how the world slowed down. It was bad in many ways, but it brought to light for me so much of what I have been missing because I had no time for the little details. I like this pace of life so much better and even the world returns to its previous speed, I am not. I want to make the most of every little ray of sunshine, splash of rain and the whispering breezes.
Less so in this lock down but in first the absence of traffic, aircraft and just noise. Our garden was full of insects and birds. It was quiet.I think many have rediscovered nature in their own areas - see that on the footpaths where we walk our dogs - more traffic there...
Cair-Paravel wrote: "I want to remember how the world slowed down. It was bad in many ways, but it brought to light for me so much of what I have been missing because I had no time for the little details. I like this p..."Except I rather fancy if things do return to "normal", and that is by no means a given, we will all be drawn back into the lifestyle we had. We did that because we were better off doing it, not because we were forced to. The quest for money has its own force.
Cair-Paravel wrote: "I want to remember how the world slowed down. It was bad in many ways, but it brought to light for me so much of what I have been missing because I had no time for the little details. I like this p..."If financially independent and immune to peer pressure, one can live a life s/he chooses . Not easy "if"s though
Another thing to remember from last year is that it seemed to draw families and friends closer together as with so many people that died from covid it made you want to reach out more to the ones you care about to make sure they were okay. :)
Agree, Marie. This situation has made us appreciate even more our friends and family and the small blessings we have to be thankful for, ones we've taken for granted.
The two big cases of 2020 was the Pandemic and the Presidential election. Yet Hong Kong should not be forgotten, nor should BLM, the Australian brush fires, and the global recession.
The one moment I do not think I will ever forget is standing in an American supermarket and not seeing food. I had a moment where I had to call my wife to talk me off the ledge. Food security is a real bugaboo for me and the idea of not having food in a supermarket was mind-blowing.
Papaphilly wrote: ".... not having food in a supermarket ..."It was just a retro glimpse into some fine moments of the USSR. Add a few long lines here and there and you won't tell NY from Moscow in 80-ies :)
it almost made me want to go buy 100 rolls of toilet paper.....8^)
Great reminder, Nik. And I probably have 100 rolls of tp stacked up in my spare room, PapaP. Not going to get caught short again. I may run out of food, but I'll die with plenty of toilet paper :-)
It is interesting because when the pandemic started here, there was one guy on the radio who was laughing at the tp hoarders. As he said, we make it in this country and export it as well, and if the shipping is in trouble, we are more likely to be flooded with it. So I stocked up with about four month's supply of coffee, but so far, no coffee shortage. On the other hand, it looks suspiciously likely that there is a shortage of figs, which I happen to like for lunch.
Well, I'd rather be without coffee and figs than tp:-) It's readily available here now, so I'm not taking anything away from others by buying a pack when I go to the store. I guess I'm like my high school friend's mom who grew up during the Depression. There was a shortage of everything back then, and she'd learned to reuse and stock up on everything in case of a shortage. It's a mindset.
Which is why I stocked up on coffee. I was confident there would always be tp, and in fairness I always have about three weeks reserve in case of earthquakes :-) In the event the plates down the bottom of the hill decide to move, covid shortages will be trivial.
Ian wrote: "Which is why I stocked up on coffee. I was confident there would always be tp, and in fairness I always have about three weeks reserve in case of earthquakes :-) In the event the plates down the bo..."Hope that you have a few barrels of Islay Whisky too. Just in case :)
No barrels, but strangely enough I do have some reserves :-)
I had reserves of wine and liquor. But I draink them all in the past 8 months.In the middle of all this, my son graduated from community college a year after he was released from pision. and my daughter received her Masters Degree from John Hopkins. Because of the virus, I didn't have to choose which ceremony to attend.
My sister had to evacuate from her home and her children from their homes twice last summer because of the fires in California, but none of their houses were damaged.
I sympathise with the alcohol issue. I had stocked up on whisky and wine, but such stocks unfortunately don't last. The good news is that I can still buy more so far.
Ian wrote: "I sympathise with the alcohol issue. I had stocked up on whisky and wine, but such stocks unfortunately don't last. The good news is that I can still buy more so far."Yes. I have replaced the bourbon bottle twice since September (and I am the only one drinking it, because I hide the Bookers from friends and family). Usually, I buy 1 bottle of good bourbon a year. The rum I bought from my vacations the last 3 years is all gone, along with the tequila that had been sitting there since 2017. 3 cases of wine gone. Generally, since around age 30, I only draink on special occasions. The past couple of years, it's just been social situations. Then everything shut down and since there was no where to drive to ... my consumption went up, especially from hanging around with a few other alone people who like to drink regularly.
It has been so long since I have bought liquor, wine, and beer, I was a bit shocked at the prices. I was even more shocked to learn wine was in boxes again and have gone through quite a few of those in the past 6 months.
Oh well, the end result, a new line on my monthly budget. Cheers!
Perhaps, unlike tourism and entertainment, liquor manufacturers and retailers have nothing to complain about. Cheers back!
Yeah, if you don't buy something for a while, prices become a shock, except, oddly, computers. On the other hand, last Christmas I noted the prices of French champagne, and recall a similar bottle of one brand when I was a student. (As encouragement, dad bet me a bottle I would botch up my finals.) If you compare what the currency could buy, I think the prices were strangely similar - the problem has been the currency.Anyway, I continue to buy various bottles. Indeed, cheers!
Oh you poor saps, needing a reason to drink...tch...tch...tch.
I don't, but I do need a bottle with something in it.
Lizzie, I laughed when I read "I had reserves of wine and liquor. But I drank them all in the past 8 months." COVID at work :-) I'm happy to hear that your son and daughter are doing well. When you're a mother, you're only really happy when your children are okay. Cheers!
I drove to Phoenix to take my son his car stuff since he paid me off for the vehicle and his parole is successfully completed. So, I stoped at the wine store. Six bottles and two boxes of wine and I was $120 poorer. Then we drank 2 of those bottles that weekend, since hotel amenities are still shut down. liquor stores never shut down here.
Lizzie wrote: "..... So, I stoped at the wine store. Six bottles and two boxes of wine and ..."Oho, somebody's purchasing in commercial quantities :)
Well stocked and drunk!
Nik wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "..... So, I stoped at the wine store. Six bottles and two boxes of wine and ..."Oho, somebody's purchasing in commercial quantities :)
Well stocked and drunk!"
Still stocked without enough of the drunk part. The chef friend got a job again, so lots of time on my own. (In regards to the lottery thread and my comments, I am now thinking the virus confinement and my relationship probably have closely related expiration dates.)
Lizzie wrote: "Still stocked without enough of the drunk part. The chef friend got a job again, so lots of time on my own...."Can't replace live camaraderie, but we are here to extend a hand with a glass to clink and say cheers, if you feel you need some company. My drinking office hours are Thu, Fri from 7 pm GMT + 2 :)
I'll pass, Nik. 0700 hrs is a bit early for me :-)
Yet, a lot of things happened and maybe hasn't received their proper share of laurels.
That's, for example, a pre-virus list of breakthrough techs referring to 2020, released just before the virus was sufficiently noticed:
https://www.technologyreview.com/10-b...
What else is memorable to you on a personal/global level from this passing year?