hows everyone doing?

"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
03/25/2020 at 12:34 • Filed to: None

rush hour:

stahp this:

DISCUSSION (28)

sony1492 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 12:42

Tr affic was 90% distribution vehicles, ton s of ups and FedEx box vans. It was a tad surreal

functionoverfashion > sony1492
03/25/2020 at 12:52

Last night we were hanging out outside where you could see the highway, and it was so weird . Almost no traffic at all, mostly trucks. In 30 minutes, maybe 10 vehicles went by. Total.

AestheticsInMotion > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 12:52

Currently packing for my ill-timed move. Also mocking up a new office desk which I'm pretty excited to put together!

How are things on your end?

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 12:53

Still here and still healthy. Everyone in the family is settling into their new routine. Remote schooling is presenting some challenges. Working remotely for me isn’t terribly difficult, but there are some issues. I desperately need to relocate to another part of the house. First, so I’m not consuming so much common space (I’m in the dining area of a house with an open-space design). When I get conference calls, everyone has to clear out so they don’t become part of my call. Second, so I can’t see the home projects that are calling for my attention. From where I sit, I can see the front lawn that needs some work to clear up the brown spots, the kitchen which needs some drawer slides fixed and new pull-out trays for the lower cabinets, the back lawn which is a hotbed of weeds, the storage building which needs doors and insulation and siding and other miscellaneous tasks completed, and it brings to mind the problem with the mower....

Speaking of the mower, I ordered the parts I need, realized they wouldn’t be here until May (!), cancelled the order, and then found someone who would ship the same parts to me by Monday. They’ve already shipped and are in transit , so they could be here as early as tomorrow. That should be an easy, fun repair to document. There, I’ve just jinxed myself so it’s guaranteed to be fun for everyone but me.

How’re you?

E90M3 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 12:57

I’m at work right now, we’ve been told we’re essential, so no plans to shut down. I had a massive headache yesterday all day. I feel a lot better today though.

OPPOsaurus WRX > sony1492
03/25/2020 at 12:58

traffic at the time of that photo usually resembles something between a full parking l ot and the highway scene in the Matrix

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:00

Working from home, and bored out of my mind. The days just run together. At least when I was going to work I have a change of scenery. Now I really don’t.

It would be great if I could just slack off and browse Oppo all day long, but I really can’t do that. I’m contractually obligated to provide a report that lists how I spent my time, and if I have a 9 hour day, I have to have 9 hours worth of stuff on it. Apparently when you telework you can’t get a coffee, or use the bathroom, or anything else.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:00

Waiting for the call from the state/management to determine if I am packing up the entire lab and bringing it home with me or if I am continuing to be the 1 person left in the office with production. I selfishly want to bring it all home so I can work in pajamas and have access to my kitchen.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > functionoverfashion
03/25/2020 at 13:04

I live just off a main road and number of passenger cars/trucks I’ve seen makes me worried a lot more people are ignoring the stay home, than officials hope.

ttyymmnn > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:12

Hanging out and writing about airplanes while my boys rot their brains on video games. Exactly what the school district intended, right? I did get a 10-mile bike ride in today, and turned some sub 5 minute miles on my neighborhood course. Haven’t done that in a long time. My wife continues to work, though that might change at the end of the week. I hope so. Otherwise, just hanging out and chipping away at our supplies.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:12

Been working from home for the past 2 weeks now. May need to head to the office to take care of some testing in this week tho...company has termed some stuff as critical and that will need to proceed no matter what. Been spending my weekends on iRacing with friends tho, getting decent at it now.

Weather is pretty good tho, I may just go out and blast around the backroads a bit today evening.

Ash78, voting early and often > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:15

Residential traffic is almost normal around Birmingham, but individually people seem to be doing a really good job staying at home (or in wide open spaces). Going for walks, chatting with neighbors we’ve never met, etc.

I already worked from home, but adding 2 additional little people has made everything tougher. I had already taken this week off, so I’m sticking with it — Staycation!

I’m thankful for relatively little disruption in our lives compared to many, but the mental impact of what’s happening is still unfolding for me. I feel like retail was finally getting back to normal after the 2008-10 mass store shutdowns.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
03/25/2020 at 13:17

“ Apparently when you telework you can’t get a coffee, or use the bathroom, or anything else.”

Nah. When you bill hours in the office, those kinds of activities are included. Same thing at home. What gets me is the telephony software that’s installed on our computers. It ties into our telephones and Outlook t o make it easy to see if someone is on the phone or has a scheduled meeting and shouldn’t be disturbed. It also automatically sets our status to “away” if the computer goes to the lock screen. So, a lot of people like to use it to “see” if you’re working or not.

Since we can create custom status messages, I set mine to “Currently busy. Send an email if you need to reach me.” That way I can walk away from the computer and not have to worry about someone giving me flack for walking the dog or getting coffee or relieving myself of that coffee.

TheRealBicycleBuck > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/25/2020 at 13:17

It’s not as fun as one would imagine.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/25/2020 at 13:24

Normal office activities are not allowed in our billing. I agree, it should be, but it isn’t. But, I’m a government contractor so I’m under higher scrutiny than some I’m sure. Which is funny, because I know people on the government side who do literally nothing. They log in in the morning, watch tv/shop/walk the dog, and then log off at the end of the day.

We too have a similar software at work that includes an instant messenger which I must admit is quite handy.

I’m so glad I remodeled a room in my house about 2 weeks before this virus hit. I had nowhere to set up to work from home before. Now I was able to co-opt the table I have my sewing machine on and make a makeshift office. Otherwise I would be sitting at my dining room table working off of my 13" laptop. No thanks.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
03/25/2020 at 13:32

That’s strange. I’m one of the evil government consultants . I guess the engineering world is a little different than other services. We track our activities in 15-minute increments, but everyone recognizes that “activities” include the minutia of daily office life.

I personally hate the instant messenger. We have other tools which work just fine for communication - email, a phone, WebEx, Bridgit, etc. Micromanagement doesn’t go over well with me, either as the manager or the employee.

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/25/2020 at 13:37

I’m still in the office, with 3 others. We all basically go home go to the office and back to minimize any exposure. all meetings are off. My boss is at home which really sucks because i’m not real familiar with what I’m working on. Trying to work at home would be a nightmare. I can;t imagine the kids leaving me alone, and even if they did to some extent, they would be tripping over cords as i work at the dining room table. And then i’d also be looking at all the stuff I have to do at home.

punkgoose17 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:37

First day back at work since Feb. it is really boring.

It is nice not to be sick anymore!

OPPOsaurus WRX > ttyymmnn
03/25/2020 at 13:39

I got out on my bike for the first time this past weekend. I do a specific dirt trail out and back, 5 miles. I think the fastest I’ve ever done it is 24 minutes while my typical is 27-ish. This time it was around 32 minutes.

OPPOsaurus WRX > E90M3
03/25/2020 at 13:41

i feel like shit right now but i’m pretty sure its from lack of sleep. M y son was scared shitless all night from a show his o ld er sisters were watching and didn’ t let my wife and I sleep.

ttyymmnn > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:42

I used to ride pretty regularly, but then stopped over the winter, and didn’t get back to it in the spring since I was teaching . This virus bullshit is giving me plenty of time to get back to it.

OPPOsaurus WRX > AestheticsInMotion
03/25/2020 at 13:43

I’m tired form lack of sleep, my son was having nightmares from his older sisters’ scary movie. I’m s till in the office with only 4 of 13 coming in so we have nice spacing.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/25/2020 at 13:43

I’ve been the only one on my floor of the building for 2 weeks now, locking up in my apartment would be the same work conditions I am in now but with extra comforts.

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:43

The cords are a pain in the arse. I finally reduced it down to one extension cord to the wall. Everything else plugs into that. Before I did that, the dogs managed to unplug both my laptop and my second monitor multiple times. Then there was the time I was running two external monitors and the dog stepped on the power strip switch. At least I don’t have any accidental shutdowns since the laptop just flips over to battery mode.

E90M3 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:44

That sucks, I’ve actually gotten a good amount of sleep recently and it’s been quite nice. Got wild and slept in until 9 on Sunday.

CalzoneGolem > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 13:54

I’m still here. I’m working from home fu ll time now. LittleGolem is binge watching fashion and makeup shows on Netflix. MrsGolem has to work as she works in a hospital. They are switching to a slower schedule but paying her the same. LittlestGolem is taking it rough he’s bo red but I’m making him do some math and science sheets, reading and some writing.

We’ve gone on a million walks and have ordered some supplies to build a new enclosure for our lizard and some raised beds to grow some veggies

Snuze: Needs another Swede > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 14:19

I’m working, needs of the Navy and all that. Plus my work is sensitive and can’t be done from home, so that’s also an issue . Mrs. Snuze is at home keeping Ozzman company, she’s on admin leave. She has some health issues and if I put up enough of a fuss they’d probably send me home, but as it stands my building is practically empty so it’s not like I’m coming into contact with a lot of people. I also know myself well enough to know that this is probably for the best, for me, to keep my routine. Though if things start getting more serious/crazy here I may have to pull the card and stay home for her sake, but we’ll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/25/2020 at 15:25

During my work-from-home days I used to sneak out to hit some tennis balls at lunch, and there would be one or two kindred souls there who had managed to eke an hour out of their schedule to do the same. Now? The tennis courts are packed . There is nothing else for them to do.