Non-political pandemic thoughts

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 08/10/2020 at 14:45 • Filed to: None

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My grocery run today got me thinking about a couple things. The first observation was that somehow 6 months into this mess the toilet paper aisle at my local grocery store is still 80% empty. Where the hell is all that TP going? How are people still buying TP at such an elevated rate? How do you have space for so much TP? How do people not have enough TP after 6 months?

Another thought is why aren’t movie theaters back open yet? It wouldn’t be hard to run a theater with safe distancing. Just sell tickets for ~30% capacity, encourage people in different groups to spread out in the mostly empty theater, and have staff dissinfect the theater between each showing and you would have an experience that’s safer than the grocery run I just made. Disney’s waffling about about possibly charging $30 to Disney+ subscribers since the theaters are closed and everyone seems super pessimistic about the theaters opening in any form for a long time. I just don’t get why theaters can’t do a limited admittance reopening like a lot of businesses have. What aspect of movie theaters am I missing that doesn’t apply to restaurants ?

Audi Quattro drift car for your time.

Ash78, voting early and often > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 14:56

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Movie theatre openings depend on where you live, but my limited knowledge of the business is that if they were forced to restrict themselves to 30% capacity, it’s cheaper to stay shut down. In order to make money, they need bodies packing the theatres for new releases, especially buying concessions. If you cut them back to a certain capacity for those new releases, they’ll be upside-down very quickly. And the studios would have to slash the prices theatres pay for movies, which means they’d take the hit.

Even at limited capacity, theatres would still have to staff almost every position (ticket booth, concessions, projectionist, a few ushers) . Restaurants can be a little more flexible with their labor, especially when they pay that ridiculously low “server wage” to the front of house people.

Sovande > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 14:57

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Movie theaters seem like the exact things that should be closed. A confined space with a strangers for a minimum two hours ?  In the dark so you can’t effectively monitor mask use?  Nope.

facw > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 14:58

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TP is in excellent supply here. One grocery store I’ve been to had it spilling out into the aisle, because they couldn’t fit it all on the shelves, while the store in my building has walls of it in their windows, as if to say “Yes: We have toilet paper!” or perhaps “Yes, we mistakenly thought demand would stay super high, so we over ordered!”

Brickman > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:00

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Toilet paper is finally in stock for the last month down here. Even have charmin ultra strong

Strangely I cannot get any Lipton tea, all out of stock!

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:00

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“ Where the hell is all that TP going?”

*glances into his spare room full of toilet paper*

No idea.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:01

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I do think its funny we let gym’s open but not some other business. I mean, I was at the pool this weekend with my kids and despite the websites insistence on “strict protocols for your safety” The only one I could see was letting in only 50%...which is still a pretty full pool. They had cones out for lines but no one was following them. Hell, the may or of the city was there with his family!

Anyway, yeah if you can call hot and heavy breathing and sweating all over machines good so long as people take cleanup seriously themselves (HA!) safe, what’ s wrong with theaters?

To be honest, I wouldn’t go but I wasn’t a theater person in the good times. Im contemplating that Mulan deal, but $30 seems pricey to distribute a movie to a screen with no overhead. Then again, paying $70 to the theater is even worse, but at least you get an experience and content instead of just the later.

I dunno where this new distribution model will go. Billy Gates seems to think developed countries will be more or less back to normal by next fall with herd immunity provided naturally and with the vaccines he’s helping fund and if that’ s true we can look at 2020 as merely a blip in the history of cinema.

fintail > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:05

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In my area, the TP thing was a big deal in March and some of April, but resolved by May. However, in the outlying small town where my mom lives, they were still having issues in May - barren shelves, and I picked up a couple Costco mega packs for her to soothe her anxiety about it. Still stock here.

The surprising one locally is cleaning supplies - also sold out around March, slowly came back, but now appears to be dwindling again - Safeway and the Wally World Neighborhood Market both had pretty bare shelves the last time I checked.

I went to Costco this morning - oddly enough, pretty empty (as traffic has increased dramatically lately) , seemed to have no shortages of anything.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Sovande 08/10/2020 at 15:06

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A restaurant is a confined space with strangers for about an hour, without masks, and with the need to interact with some of said strangers who then interact with other groups. You would probably be more spread out in a 30% capacity theater than in a lot of restaurants.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:10

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The budget movie theatre here is already open.  It’s the theatre that normally shows movies after they’ve been out out of the Cineplex.  Unfortunately there’s been no new movies going through the Cineplex, so they’ve resorted to showing older movies - e.g.: Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and a bunch of others.  Even then, I’ve heard it’s absolutely dead inside - like only two families going to see a movie.  I’d love to go catch a cheap movie but that’d mean finding someone to watch the kids and somehow getting time off work.

Textured Soy Protein > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:10

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Re: theaters, 6 feet of distance isn’t some magical field of protection that lasts indefinitely. It’s talking about generally if you keep 6 feet of distance from others, and they expel virus into the air, that’s a far enough distance where their respiratory droplets won’t transmit the virus to you.

Many of the initial “super spreader” events in China were traced to restaurants where people were indoors for extended periods of time, with air conditioning recirculating the air.

I f you’re in an enclosed space like a movie theater for an extended period of time (i.e., the length of a movie which are usually at least 90 mins) where people are un-masking themselves to munch on snacks or just doing it because they feel like it and there aren’t ushers patrolling for masks at every single moment of the movie , virus particles can hang around in the air and be recirculated by the HVAC.

Basically, they’re one of the worst possible places to go if you want to avoid the virus. Even at limited capacity.

facw > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:11

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With regards to theaters, here in MA they are limited to 25 people (or 40%, whichever is less), which means that big theaters are hard to run profitably. Just as bad, they aren’t allowed concessions sales until part 2 of phase 3, which has just been delayed, so that takes a chunk out of their income. And then on top of those problems, studios aren’t offering new releases (because who wants to release to theaters at a small fraction of capacity? ), so audiences might be limited even beyond the state limits. It all adds up to them just feeling like they can’t operate profitably, so why bother?

Tripper > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:12

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I think as others have mentioned that the profit margins for movie theaters are pretty tight in that they need a packed house at least for the big movies...Also where are the big movies? Delayed, because COVID or have I just been living on a different planet?

Grocery store near me is fully stocked with everything but the experience is completely different, obviously.

Sovande > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:12

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I certainly wouldn’t go to a restaurant either.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Ash78, voting early and often 08/10/2020 at 15:14

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The economic side for the theaters does make sense. They do have a lot of behind the scenes staff needed to operate. With reduced traffic they could reduce the number of customer facing staff but probably not enough to make a huge difference in daily operating costs.

I’m sure the publishers would be open to the idea of resuming licensing to theaters at lower costs. Most of them are either indefinitely postponing the release of movies they have already paid to produce or grasping at straws trying to figure out how to get their money back through releasing it on streaming services. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Tripper 08/10/2020 at 15:16

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All the big movies either have their releases postponed indefinitely (meaning the producers currently have millions of dollars wrapped up in them not knowing when they can start earning some of that money back) or are being pushed out early to on demand and streaming services in a desperate attempt to get at least a little money from the work.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:18

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I’m not looking forward to spending some ridiculous amount for the live-action Mulan when it drops (my wife’s already planning on it).

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > HammerheadFistpunch 08/10/2020 at 15:19

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Gyms, concert venues, and amusement parks are the 3 businesses that come to mind when I think of places that are bad ideas in the current climate. All places where lots of people breathe heavily on either equipment that other people then come along and touch or breathe heavily on each other.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/10/2020 at 15:21

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I am strongly opposed to Disney making live action imitations of the movies of my childhood. They are classics, they don’t need you to change them. The Lion King remake is a particular abomination in my mind.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Sovande 08/10/2020 at 15:23

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I’ve been doing takeout since this whole thing started. I have also done outside seating once. I haven’t seen the need to do any indoor seating. 

facw > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:23

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Indoor restaurant seating probably should be closed. If it isn’t, you can at least make sure people aren’t seated within 6-feet of anyone else. You might be able to pull that off for an assigned seatin g theater, but even if you do it probably wouldn’t be enough to be profitable.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > facw 08/10/2020 at 15:27

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End of May/early june my local costco had an insane amount of TP. also a couple pallets of driveway salt they were trying to get rid off. I wonder if they got March orders in. 

HammerheadFistpunch > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:27

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all open here!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:27

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Yeah, but just sure bank for them. I haven’t seen any of the live action remakes, but I think Mulan actually has a chance to be good (different enough from the original, maybe?).

The ones that really stick with me from childhood are The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Fox & The Hound and 101 Dalmations.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:28

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Ive seen it consistent in my neck. Though odd last week after the storm at costco, there was a huge rush for paper towels. I was a bit confused what the damand was. meanwhile bottled water, untouched. 

facw > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:29

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Here in MA, the government agrees with you.

Gyms could only reopen in Phase 3 (at 40% capacity, and equipment must be 14 ft apart unless barriers are installed, among other restrictions).

C oncert venues are also Phase 3, though indoor venues have to wait for Phase 3 part 2, and large venues have to wait for P hase 4. As before they are limited to 40% capacity, and subject to other restrictions.

Amusement parks are Phase 4 (post-vaccine).

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > HammerheadFistpunch 08/10/2020 at 15:38

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Anyway, yeah if you can call hot and heavy breathing and sweating all over machines good so long as people take cleanup seriously themselves (HA!) safe, what’s wrong with theaters?

I started going to my local YMCA a few weeks ago. From what I’ve seen, it’s still way below capacity. The most people I’ve seen there at one time is about 10, the staffer I asked said that per-COVID, there were usually about 25 there at that time of day. They’ve also taped every other machine off (and change which ones are taped off every couple days), check temps at the door, keep track of who enters and leaves (for contact tracing purposes), and put a spray bottle near every machine or free weight station. My fears have been assuaged, however I’m not in my 70s, like many patrons. A friend of mine got COVID, he was working from home and only leaving to go to the grocery and lift at an LA Fitness. So, maybe I’m setting myself up for failure.

It’s not the same in theaters. Most theaters operate by buying a license to show a film for a period of time, and selling tickets has nominal profit for them. That’s why theater snacks are so expensive- it’s what keeps the lights on. It’s likely cheaper (ie, less money lost) to just not buy licenses to show films than it is to show them at reduced capacities. It’s definitely hard to argue that state governments should keep those specific businesses closed while letting gyms and such open back up. As far as having employees clean between showings... hard pass. I have never been in a theater that wasn’t absolutely disgusting, even post cleaning.

HammerheadFistpunch > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/10/2020 at 15:44

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You make a good point about margins.  It would be like requiring the parts and service departments of a dealership to stop running and expect sales to keep the lights one.  That being said, here our gyms have adopted a “A sign should be enough” policy.

nermal > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:47

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It’s going to be more like the flu or the cold or herpes than it will be like smallpox or measles or the OG plague . Meaning that it’s never going to truly go away, despite vaccines and education. The entire point of shutting down everything was to “flatten the curve” and avoid overloading unprepared hospitals, not to eliminate the virus completely.

( In addition to weaking the US on the global stage, weaken ing Trump leading up to the election, and giving Bill Gates more time to build 5G tow ers to deploy his remote mind control microchips.)

Everybody wanking about over how great NZ is doing doesn’t realize that they are totally borked as soon as they open their borders back up. It only takes a single non-symptomatic infected person in a crowded area to start the snowball effect of widespread infection.

The keys to avoiding dying from the virus are really quite simple: Don’t get old, don’t be poor, don’t get fat, exercise regularly, eat healthy, and make sure you off yourself before your asshole kids stop giving a shit and throw you in a nursing home to rot to death until they can collect their inheritance. Shockingly, there is nothing new or different here. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 15:54

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theaters are open here for now...

they’re not exactly breaking even now they can only sell about a third of the seats

on the upside...my local cinema has finally cancelled the stupid fucking popcorn breaks midmovie so they can fit in more viewings to try and make up for the lack of seats

Ermahgerd! > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 16:07

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A thought on TP: A lot of people are working from home or not working at all, and people aren’t able to go out as much as they used to. All those poops that were happ ening at work, or a restaurant , or any public bathroom are now happen ing at home. So people have to buy more of the stuff. This isn’ t the whole reason but I am sure a significant part of it.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 16:14

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Good conversation on here. Will contribute with this article about ventilation -

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/

There are some very interesting findings about ventilation and COVID - surprising there hasn’t been more of a push for improving things on that front in places like restaurants, movie theatres, etc. if people are itching to reopen.

Personally based on our comfort levels we won’t be going to any movie theatres or being seated at restaurants anytime soon, but given that many people are this seems like a good precaution to push for. Also grocery stores.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 16:36

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I wonder what the stats are on actual occupancy of a theater? I used to go a lot with friends I high school and we’d go for 3:30- 5 showing (1/2 price) that would have 20 people in it vs the 7 that would be packed. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 08/10/2020 at 16:48

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It would be cool to see the data on theater occupancy for different times and distance from a movies release. I don’t think there are many times that will actually pack a theater and not for long after a movie releases. In high school my friends and I would go to the big theater in our area on say a sunday for a 1:30 showing of one of the big Avengers movies a week after release and it would be a half empty theater. The only times we found that you would have to buy your tickets in advance instead of buying them when you got to the theater would be the 7-11 showings the week of release and the first weekend. After that you could just show up and never have an issue getting tickets.

Milky > nermal 08/10/2020 at 17:08

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You’re right, NZ should have let more people die.  

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 18:00

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Not just the paper section, parts of my local Target still look like Soviet Russia.  Jewel, the local grocer isn’t too bad, though.

subexpression > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 18:56

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If the drive-in theaters hadn’t all died they could probably reopen with some refreshment-delivery service...  but I don’t know if they’d make any money now when they weren’t before.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > subexpression 08/10/2020 at 19:08

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The two screen drive in theater near my parents has stayed open through this whole thing. I think they shut down the on site food options for a while but the screens have stayed running. Outside the food options they could probably operate it for a night with only 2 or 3 people.

That said the two brothers who own it are heavily involved in the local community so they were probably willing to operate it at a loss if needed for the sake of the local residents. They've been showing a bunch of classics without the new movies. My dad and I almost went the night they had one screen showing The Princess Bride followed by Ghostbusters.

Just Jeepin' > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 19:14

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My dad and I almost went the night they had one screen showing The Princess Bride followed by Ghostbusters. 

I am so disappointed in you.

nermal > Milky 08/10/2020 at 20:12

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Not saying that, just that they have successfully “ flattened the curve”. For now..... 

gin-san - shitpost specialist > nermal 08/10/2020 at 20:14

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Don’t get old, don’t be poor, don’t get fat, exercise regularly, eat healthy, 

Well I’m fucked. The only thing I’m doing OK on is the money situation and the fact that I’m not fat (yet). At least the pants I used to wear to work regularly still fit the same.

Idiot In The Garage Needs A New CGI Job... > subexpression 08/10/2020 at 20:30

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What I wonder is how can WalMart think to put up makeshift drive in theaters, but AMC and other theaters can’t? They have giant parking lots too.

thatsmr > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/10/2020 at 23:16

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Dont do movies much. Took kiddos when they were little . Miss live music a lot (dive bar stuff..small touring bands) Luckily have musician friends and working on a stoner/doom project which seems appropriate for 2020 (masked when playing inside)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > thatsmr 08/10/2020 at 23:57

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Love music is probably what I miss the most. I was supposed to go to a couple of kick ass shows this year including my favorite band who I have been trying to see live for years and now I have no idea when I will get to see a show again. Live music venues will probably be one of the last things to come back and since they already sold the tickets for these shows they can't exactly limit capacity without making a lot of people unhappy.

thatsmr > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 08/12/2020 at 21:27

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I did see Black Flag and ..and you will know us by the trail of dead early this year so those were cool. Working on some doom type stuff with my friend who played drums in our old punk band, so being the live music is nice (and if any year=doom its 2020)