Yikes.

So, things have been a bit hectic and overwhelming the last week and a half. My workplace got shut down; we’re all working from home now. Fortunately I work in an industry where that’s possible.

I also work in an industry that’s being punched in the balls by COVID-19. Like, we’re fine this year. We already have this year’s money. Next year, though? 😬 One of my jobs Friday was to audit every paid service or program I used and see which ones could be cut, to save money for next year.

This is the first time I’ve ever done the “work from home” thing, so part of the general hecticity was trying to hammer out some kind of workflow. Also, I’m regretting ditching our office set up, now. Wish I’d saved a desk and chair.

We don’t have a “shelter in place” edict yet, but I imagine that’s coming sooner rather than later. Our governor did some kind of “stay safe, stay home” thing, but I guess that was like a PSA? Not a “shelter in place” order? Both the reporting and the “order” are a hot mess.

• OPB: Governor, Portland Mayor, Multnomah Chair: Stay At Home, Stay Healthy
• Portland Mercury: Oregon Leaders Give Unclear Guidance on a “Shelter in Place” Order
• Willamette Week: Oregon Public Health Association Calls for Statewide Shelter in Place Policy
• KATU: Gov. Kate Brown: no shelter-in-place order for now, but Oregonians should still stay home
• OPB: Stay Home? Shelter-In-Place? Navigating Oregon’s And Portland’s Evolving Coronavirus Strategies

Good job, Kate. 🙄

Eh, I shouldn’t bitch. We’re all making this up as we go along, including the folks in charge. Although it’s worth noting that we wouldn’t be making it up as we go along if it weren’t for a certain orange turd in office who eliminated the whole apparatus President Obama put in place to deal with problems exactly like this.

For the next several months, I want you to keep that in mind. All the suffering and bullshit we’re about to deal with are solely the fault of Donald J. Trump and his stunning incompetence.

At any rate, here’s a few resources to keep an eye on:

• Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard 👈 This is the real one, by the way. There’s a scam site making the rounds that installs malware on your computer, so be careful about that.
• Andy Slavitt, former Medicare, Medicaid & ACA head for Pres. Barack Obama 👈 He’s got a blog where he’s rounding up information about COVID-19.
• Josh Marshall’s Twitter List of Trusted Experts 👈 “(Epidemiologists, Researchers, Clinicians, Journalists, Government Agencies) providing reliable real-time information on the COVID-19 Crisis.”

Image sources: Screencaps from the Johns Hopkins dashboard, showing the World (top) and the US (middle) for 3/21/20 at about 5:15 p.m. PDT.