This whole covid-19 pandemic/economic crash thing is weirder than any episode of the Twilight Zone, well, almost. One of my fave episodes was one where a lady was very sick with a fever, and she dreamed that the Earth's orbit had brought it closer to the sun, so everything was very hot. In reality a rogue planet had come close to earth, and knocked it to a more distant orbit so everything was very cold and getting colder. The episode was called "Fire or Ice" or something like that. The lady actually had a fever brought on by the intense cold.

"Love is NOT Cancelled". Good name for a bordello. Is Thomas Wolfe still celebrated & read in Asheville? I hope so. A real genius, brought down by wicked TB that infected his brain. He had a lot of novels in him but the TB got him. His contemporary Faulkner considered him potentially the greatest author of his generation if he had lived.

I took advantage to get a haircut last weekend. Lauren and I also visited one of her favorite restaurants on Monday, which had the dining room open. Not everything that can open is open and not all restaurants that are open are opening their dining rooms. You have to check to see what is open. I would say most restaurants are not opening their dining rooms.

So, what was it like? The barber had a mask and the chairs are distanced. All of the customers didn't have a mask. He said that was the busiest day in the history of his shop and he had new customers from the barbers that didn't open. Georgia wasn't closed long enough for me to actually miss a haircut. The dine-in restaurant experience was interesting. Paper menus, closed tables for spacing, no waiting or reservations, they clean the entire seating area when you leave, salt and pepper isn't on the table and is cleaned after use, everyone on staff has masks... but not all are wearing them correctly. I saw an occasional nose above the mask. Not many people appear to be interested in eating inside the restaurant, which may explain why so many restaurants are still pick-up and to-go. Service was better than usual, with fewer tables and fewer customers. The manager was able to visit every table. I have noticed more people wearing masks in grocery stores. It appears as if most store customers are now wearing a mask in suburban Atlanta. I have seen store employees without them, removing it to talk to customers, and just covering their mouth and not their nose.

My Mom works in healthcare and she said she wouldn't eat at a restaurant or even order take-out or delivery. My wife Lauren did want to go out to all of her favorite places, but after talking with my Mom and thinking about it, she isn't as excited to go out to restaurants or any entertainment venues that are allowed to open. Monday was the only day we ate restaurant food this week.

I have noticed a slight increase in traffic, since so much has reopened. However, it's still not as bad as it was pre-COVID-19. Traffic in Atlanta does something locals call "The Accordion," which is exactly what you think. Slow-down, speed-up, slow-down, stop, speed-up, etc.,. The Accordion tried to return on major roads, for the first time since early-March, but it wasn't as bad as it usually is. Traffic doesn't stop or back-up in travel lanes next to turning lanes. Some of the turning lanes need to be lengthened in Metro Atlanta to prevent back-ups.

^ Interesting, I'd heard some restaurants had opened in the suburbs, but where I am in east Atlanta, I'd estimate less than 1 in 100 restaurants have opened up.

That's anecdotal of course, but I've had a lot of time for walks lately, and nothing has opened up that I've seen in the vicinity of Cabbagetown/Reynoldstown. If people were expecting some sort of economic resurgence following a "reopening", it seems unlikely to happen soon.

manhattan

weekend w14st pano

literally not a soul in sight

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psnw16bsia.jpg

Atlanta - traffic jam on the northside perimeter yesterday =totally attributable to the flyover

which was awesome - but have not mossed the traffic

all of our favorite restaurants remain closed or take out only
we have only been outside the neighborhood 3x in past 5 weeks

I got out on a bike today and rode from from Notting Hill to Victoria Park to Canary Wharf and back, with a bit of wandering around the City and Soho/Mayfair enroute. It’s a ghost town and I would say that about 2/3 of people out were cyclists.

A fair number of places are still doing food to go, especially those that are also offering grocery items (and are thus “essential” shops and can remain open), so the bike is a great way of adding some variety to life and getting out of your own neighbourhood.

Celebrated, yes. But read? Here, Thomas Wolfe is only read by the same people who read him everywhere else: sullen high school students who only do so resentfully before bitching about the paper they have to write about it.

oh how nice - so we’ll all look forward to your photo thread.

:rolleyes::haha:

I do need to take my actual camera out (it’s just a Lumix, but at least better than the iPhone). But I can’t even get through organising honeymoon photos from 2 years ago, let alone host and post a photo thread.

Stockholm is running at about 40-60% of normal. It just feels like a quiet Sunday most of the time. As has become quite well-known, there are only the most minimal restrictions in place here.

sounds like half the people are self-restricting.

Plus, with your 4 hours a day of grocery shopping...

It’s an hour or two really. What am I supposed to do when the butcher, the produce guy, the bakery and booze are all in different places?

But that includes lots of walking. ;)

There's been quite a lot of fuss on local social media about food shortages and disruptions, and while we're a tourist town that's been gut-punched because there are no tourists anymore... Well, we also used to make an unholy fuss about how everything we eat and drink here has to be local, local, local!

Which is to say, that social media is also abuzz with all these farms that used to supply the hotels and restaurants informing people of how to get hold of them to buy local meat, cheese, milk and other dairy products, oils, fish, veggies, fruits, flour, honey, coffee, tea, and God knows what all else. Some of the fancier places -- and some of our restaurants are very fancy indeed and nationally recognized -- have switched over to the bodega model employed in other cities, and are selling plain produce and meat, as well as meal kits, directly to customers.

Yes that’s become quite common here, for restaurants and restaurant suppliers. There’s a butcher that usually supplies Michelin-starred restaurants in London that has opened a pop-up in a clothing store (which is obviously closed) about 10 minutes’ walk from me. I am debating splurging on some A5 wagyu ribeye. :)

I'd say that's about right.

I was shocked to see a news special on Stockholm, where bars were backed, people were crowded at outdoor cafes drinking beers, and people getting haircuts. Absolutely NO masks. I cannot believe how different of a mentality it is over there.