Deckstats Forum
English-language Forums => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Aetherium Slinky on March 24, 2020, 03:54:46 pm
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What's the situation with Corona in your country? How are you coping with it? How do you feel about it?
Finland at the moment: we don't have curfew (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Curfew) (yet) but they're saying people should stay at home, shopping for anything should be avoided but obviously you're allowed to buy food and medicine. Some people have been quarantined and they're not allowed to leave their home.
I'm just refreshing forums at home now, building decks, playing Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program, watching Netflix and doing introvert things in general. I'm still scared as heck that I will catch the virus and suddenly just drop dead with no treatment available. Thus far our health care is coping well with the situation but that might change in a few weeks if the projections are correct. I don't really know how to cope with the anxiety that comes from being cut off from work completely (so no money) and staying healthy.
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In my state (Maryland) here in the US, they've closed all non-essential businesses, Restaurants & bars are open for takeout/delivery only. Public schools are out for another week (they're expected to extend that any time now). Most public offices and private businesses that can are working from home. Places like the libraries are closed. And even courts are postponing any case that isn't deemed necessary atm. They've closed colleges for the rest of the semester.
Overall, I'm going nuts. I just had been able to start getting out and around to more than a few games at the LGS a week and now I'm back to being stuck in the house.
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Life is.
I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and as of midnight tonight, all non-essential services are ordered closed. I work in construction and was told this morning that all our jobsites are officially closed until further notice. Our government has promised employment insurance aid to help Canadian citizens through this period, but we'll see how the system handles this dramatic increase in solicitation of its servers. Regardless, lots of small businesses will be decimated after this virus has run its course. The construction industry here in Quebec is massive so I am not worried about work once the ban on non-essential services is lifted and we can resume work/being close to other people.
As in most countries now, public gatherings are prohibited, albeit more as a strong suggestion. I think they are talking about having the police intervene (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Intervene) in case people don't listen. For my part, my friends and I have already self-isolated even before the government recommended it. Most of my friends have families so no one is taking chances.
I think what bothers me the most is being forced to remain indoors, not the actual lack of social contact or work, or the dent it'll invariably make in our personal finances. I'm also finding it a bit difficult being at home 24/7 with my significant other, who is now working from home, as normally, our schedules permit me to have a bit of alone time every afternoon.
All we can really do is relax at home and ride this out while limiting our exposure risks. I'm keeping myself occupied building/tinkering with decks and writing a DnD-influenced Vampire: the Dark Ages game set in a mythological Norway. I also have an artist friend that wants us to do a small comic book together. Maybe this period, despite the uncertainty and anxiety, will result in some solid creative output.
I go to a semi-private gym and the owner has been posting body-weight-only workout programs on his site. That is super cool of him.
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I'm in the UK. Here, it's much like everywhere else. Numbers are spiraling and they've implemented an "essentials only" lockdown. It's shitty and boring but it's necessary. I appreciate the measures more than most. My wife has serious underlying health issues and a heavily compromised immune system. She's considered to be "at very high risk" from the coronavirus. We nearly lost her last October because of her own illness. If she gets this, she doesn't stand a chance. The prospect of my two kids growing up without a mother and being a widower before I turn 30 is not something I'm relishing, so I'm happy to put up with all the tedious boredom and inconvenience for as long as it takes.
My government are doing some things well at least (much as it pains me to admit; I voted for the other guys). They were slow to react to the seriousness of the situation, but have promised to pay up 80% of wages for anyone who cannot work or is laid off as a result, mortgages and rent payments have been frozen, universal credit has been made available to self employed people at much better rates than were previously available. They are doing everything they can to make sure people's welfare will be unaffected as much as possible when it is all done. It's helping the state of people's minds a lot.
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CleanBelwas, that is just absolutely awful. My deepest sympathies, I can't even imagine how you two are feeling right now. I truly can't.
I'm a little worried about my mum, too, because she also has some health problems. She's mentally preparing for the worst but I hope it doesn't come to that.
I'm also increasingly worried about Sweden. They haven't done much except they prepared a stadium for extra patient beds afaik. I'm really worried. They're apparently seeing what we do and following us when they should have already closed everything.
Also lots of restless people here in Finland. There's been talk about complete isolation of cities (especially the Uusimaa-region which is basically Helsinki, our capital city). It's a good idea but seeing that summer cottages are *really* popular in Finland people have started migrating to the countryside. The health care over there is obviously not good enough if someone brings the virus with them. And someone will... They're now telling people to stick to their choices and stop moving about restlessly.
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Thanks a lot man. We're just following the advice, isolating as much as possible and reducing our exposure as much as we can. Hopefully it'll work out fine. Same to you too dude. It's concerning for everyone, especially those who a particularly vulnerable, so hopefully your mum can stay safe too (and everyone for that matter).
From the sounds of it, Sweden are where the UK were a few weeks ago. Our PM was slow to act and cases have spiralled somewhat. Our statistics are mirroring Italy's quite closely, so we're just hoping that we've started isolating in time to "flatten (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Flatten) the curve" before it gets too much for our NHS to handle. Most people here are taking it seriously, but we're still seeing the odd knobhead on the news that are using it all as an excuse for a holiday. A video emerged last night of 50+ people having a BBQ in the street. The police came and dispersed them but they put up some resistance and the police ended up knocking over their BBQ and confiscating all of their food and alcohol.
We're also seeing a similar thing to what you have described in Finland. A lot of people have been taking their motorhomes/caravans up into the Scottish Highlands to isolate (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Isolate), but they don't realise the potentially devastating impact they could have. These places are incredibly remote, so they don't have the infrastructure to handle a mass influx of people (the local shops are used to dealing with the needs of the village they are in alone, suddenly having to deal with four or five times as many people means no one has enough stuff), and furthermore, even without the Coronavirus, a massive influx of people into a remote location means bringing a whole bunch of germs and bacteria that the locals have had little to no exposure too, so just regular illnesses can tear through a place like that when this kind of thing happens.
People just need to stick it out at home. We're living in a time where self isolating is as easy as it could possibly be. With all of the home entertainment and communication options available to us, it's really not all that bad. It's never nice to have your way of life forcibly changed or to be required to give up the things you like, but it's only going to be temporary, and the sooner everyone does their part, the sooner we'll come out the other side.
How are you all finding your supply chains are holding up? Are you all still able to get the essentials you need? Have people been stockpiling to the same ludicrous extent they have here in the UK?
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People do hoard stuff so the shelves are pseudo-empty - that's because the shops can't restock (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Restock) fast enough. However, the storage managers say they've got plenty more in storage so that's apparently a non-issue. At least I trust them (and other people should, too). Toilet paper was the first to go. Still available in the mornings and recently I've started seeing TP in the evenings, too. Maybe people have stopped hoarding for the most part?
Oh and don't buy penny sweets. Preferably at all. I've seen things.
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Here in Maryland the Governor just extended the time schools are closed until April 24th.
ETA- They just ordered Shelter (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Shelter) in Place for my hometown in North Carolina.
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In Tennessee (in the U.S.), it's gotten somewhat bad. Our governor is *cough* an absolute imbecile, so I have stopped trying to keep up with the day to day politics. Like in Maryland, we're out of school until late April, and, slowly, we are isolating. I'm mostly cut off from the outside world because my family started basically quarantining several weeks ago. I have gone out, like, once. My maternal grandparents grew up in the 1920-30s (Great Depression in the U.S.) and lived through WWII, so my mother grew up in a household where there always was a small stockpile of food. She does the same thing, so we're basically set. People are going crazy, though. For example: we had to go to 5 different stores to get enough milk to last us the week.
When people hoard, it pisses me off so much. It's obvious these stores have enough milk, toilet paper, etc. for everybody because they have had enough in the past. All that is happening is artificial and motivated by fear (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Fear).
Of course, there's our "President" saying one thing, and the White House medical officials (and medical officials in the U.S. in general) saying another thing, so I have no idea how our country will handle this problem.
I'm happy to hear other countries like the UK is reimbursing people and making sure the economy doesn't just crash (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Crash) and burn. Wish I could say the same for our country. Most of what's trying to get passed is a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo that I really don't understand, but I believe what's going on is something like this? Correct me if I'm wrong.
The Republicans are fighting for a bill that gives somebody in the government a large state-funded lump sum of money. That person is then allowed to distribute that money amongst the American people, corporations, etc. without much oversight. <-- Not good.
Right now, it also seems that large corporations are receiving cuts and benefits to stay afloat, while similar legislation designed to help smaller businesses "is underway". Please pray for those of us in the U.S. I think our government as a whole is too divided by party lines and Trump's conflicting messages to effectively address this pandemic. We'll see in the upcoming weeks.
CleanBelwas, I don't even know what to say. I desperately hope your family stays safe. Please update us as much as you are willing. We love you bro <3.
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Thanks for your kind words guys. The kindness of internet friends is genuinely uplifting.
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Thanks for your kind words guys. The kindness of internet friends is genuinely uplifting.
I genuinely want to know you and your family are doing well. You'll let us know if anything changes, won't you?
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I feel for the American poor and working class during this crisis, and I fear (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Fear) that things will change for the worst once this virus has run its course. I read an article about a Texas clinic no longer offering abortions because they are deemed ''not necessary'', which is an attempt by the Christian Right to undermine (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Undermine) women's rights, an under-handedly disgusting thing to do at this time.
I'm not sure how true this is, but I am reading a lot about gun sales skyrocketing in the US. If this is true, this is insanity.
Apparently the Trump admnistration has bailout plans for the airplane companies, much like the Obama administration had bailout plans for the banks in 2008. I fear (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Fear) that there could be a repeat in foreclosures and possibly homelessness after this is all said and done. The moment you talk about helping the common folk financially, they cry socialism/communism and dismiss (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Dismiss) the idea. As the august George Carlin said: ''Life is a big club, and we aren't part of it.''
This virus, despite disrupting our routines, upsets me more because I see a grim aftermath socio-politically. It is in these moments of crisis when humanity is anxious and afraid that neoliberal practices can be implemented without us really knowing about it. Our attention is scattered elsewhere.
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Thanks for your kind words guys. The kindness of internet friends is genuinely uplifting.
I genuinely want to know you and your family are doing well. You'll let us know if anything changes, won't you?
Ditto!
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Thanks a lot guys. We're in a kind of strange situation. For someone who is consistently ill, it's difficult to know if what they are experiencing is down to their illness or something external.
Last night, my wife suddenly felt really ill to the point where she had to just go to bed (very unlike her, especially before the kids so she misses out on stories and bath time and what not), but this kind of thing happens semi-regularly, so it's difficult to identify a cause when the world is as it is. It's both positive and negative. On the one hand, you're terrified of every little cough and sniffle and headache, but on the other hand, these things are so common that it can be a kind of comfort. "You feel like this all the time and we've been isolating well so it's probably nothing". It's a strange state to exist in.
She's feeling better today though. Got a good nights sleep (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Sleep) and was able to rest this morning while I sorted out the kids, so we just have to keep being sensible and take it day by day.
And honestly guys, your kindness and support and concern is genuinely appreciated. We don't know each other outside of us all liking the same hobby, but these kinds of forums allow these kinds of friendships to blossom and it's very touching, so thank you.
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The moment you talk about helping the common folk financially, they cry socialism/communism and dismiss (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Dismiss) the idea.
When the Democrats make suggestions to help everybody, it's communism.
When Republicans try to pass (shitty) legislature to help companies and people, it's fine.
(https://i.imgur.com/w3hUyFC.gif)
I'm going to third what MustaKotka said. There's nothing we can do outside of support, and my family is fine, so I need something to worry about/pray for. I'm happy to hear she's feeling better.
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Running necessary errands has become a bit heavy now. There are line-ups and procedures to follow once you get inside a store, procedures that vary from one establishment to another. The overall atmosphere is heavy as people are afraid of each other.
The mayor of Montreal wants the federal government to declare a state of emergency here before this health crisis turns into a humanitarian one (re: the homeless in downtown Montreal). I think we are heading into our peak period right now. My wife was told that 2 people at her workplace (major news station) has tested positive for Covid-19; good thing she's been working from home. I also heard on the news this morning that one of our major francophone universities had 2 positive tests, which is a bit worrisome as schools have been closed for about 2 weeks. Who knows how many people have been in contact with those two carriers since they got tested and got the results?
The city of New York looks to be getting out of hand, and we are about 500kms away. Trump is sending troops to our border; it's sad that his focus is to work his electoral base by showing that he is ''doing'' something about the situation, as if people going south into the US through Canada is the problem. I don't know anyone that would willingly flee Canada to go to New York right now - absurd attempt to blow smoke (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Smoke) up people's asses. I heard that some Republicans are even blaming his impeachment process for distracting him from being able to better manage this crisis - laughable!
Harvey Weinstein may have found his way out of Rikers; I read that at least 60 people in that New York prison has tested positive for the virus. I'm not even sure this is a tin foil hat moment...
Seriously crazy times we are living in right now.
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The city of New York looks to be getting out of hand, and we are about 500kms away. Trump is sending troops to our border; it's sad that his focus is to work his electoral base by showing that he is ''doing'' something about the situation, as if people going south into the US through Canada is the problem. I don't know anyone that would willingly flee Canada to go to New York right now - absurd attempt to blow smoke (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Smoke) up people's asses. I heard that some Republicans are even blaming his impeachment process for distracting him from being able to better manage this crisis - laughable!
Haha, trust me as someone who lives in the U.S. Nobody is worried about Canadians transmitting it to us. In fact, y'all might want to put some troops on the border to stop us filthy Americans from bringing Covid into Canada. We're up to 100,000 cases, btw.
Ya know what's even sadder than the fact that this is happening? The fact that I'm not even surprised by this. Of course Democrats are being blamed for our "leader's" "decisions". Of course he's sending troops to ensure the one thing that definitely won't be happening isn't happening. Sigh. (https://media2.giphy.com/media/1yiPmOiKsm1YFB3qFB/giphy.gif)
Tbh, I would love to drop this portion of our discussion. Talking about the U.S.'s federal government is useless and depressing.
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Movement has been restricted to and from Uusimaa region. I think my father is barely on the other side, not that it matters at all since we're not supposed to see anyone.
Restaurants, cafes and pubs have been (finally!) closed by the government. I know a place I used to work at that is still open until the very last minute and I'm not sure it's good publicity for them. Everyone else has closed their doors already.
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And there's the stay at home order for my state that I've been expecting.
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Montreal, unsurprisingly, is the hot spot in Quebec right now, and the various regions in my province are now closed off from non-essential travel. I'm wondering if they are going to deny access to all the bridges leaving the island (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Island) soon.
The provincial government has now closed all grocery stores on Sunday as a measure to give the clerks a day off. There are still shortages of various items in stores and line-ups to enter, reminding me a bit of the stores I saw backpacking in Cuba in February.
It's a little bit discouraging to see that not all essential services allowed to remain open respect the same public health protocols. I left a pharmacy this morning because no one was at the entrance controlling/monitoring the customers entering. This was in stark contrast to the second pharmacy I went to whereby I was asked if I had a fever/felt sick and just returned or knew someone returning from vacation. They gave me some hand sanitizer and then let me in. The nearest Walmart has no limit of people allowed to shop at the same time and not everyone seems to have the same notion of social distancing, which makes buying things an akward experience to be avoided until the end of this crisis. I now know the stores in my area with the best hygiene practices and will frequent those exclusively.
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CleanBelwas, hope everything goes well for you and yours.
As for me, Japan is taking an...interesting approach to things. They're basically delaying every positive measure until the public and other countries shame them into it. Also, Japanese people just have bad hygiene in general. They have flu epidemics every year and every school cancels multiple classes for a week at a time for them, but everyone accepts it as a matter of course instead of changing.
Same with corona. We're told to do the equivalent of social distancing, but the staff still have to go to an empty school every day and sit in a tiny staff room because God forbid (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Forbid) paid employees don't sit at their desks even if it's literally a health hazard and no one has anything to do.
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It's great to see everyone come together like this. Deckstats doesn't have a very large group of active posters and it somehow makes me feel some kind of connection with all of you. We all barely know each other and yet we're willing to lend emotional support when needed.
Which is something you should do by the way. Check-in on people, see how they are doing. I want to see everyone come out of this in good shape. What I'm most worried about is if a regular poster suddenly stops coming onto this site.
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It's great to see everyone come together like this. Deckstats doesn't have a very large group of active posters and it somehow makes me feel some kind of connection with all of you. We all barely know each other and yet we're willing to lend emotional support when needed.
We in the Deckstats forum prefer quality over quantity.
What I'm most worried about is if a regular poster suddenly stops coming onto this site.
That would be too scary, yeesh.
Edit: Well, my baby, Red_Wyrm's, last post was on the 23rd.
(https://wompampsupport.azureedge.net/fetchimage?siteId=7575&v=2&jpgQuality=100&width=700&url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.kym-cdn.com%2Fentries%2Ficons%2Ffacebook%2F000%2F017%2F039%2Fpressf.jpg)
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What I'm most worried about is if a regular poster suddenly stops coming onto this site.
Where's Soren?
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Red_Wyrm was last active on March 27th. Soren841 was last active on March 28th, but hasn't made a post since March 9th. Nothing to be alarmed about yet.
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I can't believe I missed the part of their profile that says last active :P
I feel better now.
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So how is everyone doing?
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The Ikoria spoilers have been the highlight of my days so far. Props by the way. You've done a good job at keeping up with them as they come out.
I'm still working. Somehow I'm classified as an essential service. I can't tell if its a good thing (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=A+Good+Thing) or not that I am still working.
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One of my relatives probably has the virus. They've got a lung disease so all we can do is wait and see.
Otherwise I've kept myself busy by studying for university entrance exams and brewing new stuff. I was worried I wouldn't find a new pet commander from this set but Zaxara is definitely one that calls to me. Keeping it.
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Now that my teachers have actually started giving us stuff to do, I don't mind being stuck at home as much.
I've been getting back into piano recently (stopped playing because I didn't have time with school) and I've forgot how much fun it can be.
I just bought some cards for Alesha (I got a Japanese Ravos, Soultender (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Ravos%2C+Soultender) for $4.50 and a MB1 Recruiter of the Guard (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Recruiter+of+the+Guard) for $8, so I feel pretty good about myself) so I'll be receiving some cards within the next week and some cards mid May (they were preorders on M20 and IKO cards). That ought to brighten up my days!
While I haven't found a commander I plan on buying, Tayam, Luminous Enigma (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Tayam%2C+Luminous+Enigma) goes infinite so easily. I've goldfished 5 games with him and went infinite by accident 3 of the 5 times. Also, he's pretty easy to build budget. Just add a bunch of sac outlets, all the bulk Persist and Undying cards, and it's a solid deck.
Lurrus of the Dream-Den (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Lurrus+of+the+Dream-Den) is really fun in an Aristocrats shell in Pioneer. I learned that if you manifested an X (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=X) costed card (Hangarback Walker (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Hangarback+Walker) for example) you can actually pay mana for x (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=X) when flipping it up, which is dope. On the flipside, if you want to cast Walker from the gy with Lurrus, you can only cast it for x (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=X)=1. Still, Zulaport Cutthroat (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Zulaport+Cutthroat), Cruel Celebrant (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Cruel+Celebrant), Cartel Aristocrat (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Cartel+Aristocrat), Witch's Oven (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Witch%27s+Oven), Cauldron Familiar (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Cauldron+Familiar), Hangarback Walker (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Hangarback+Walker), and Rally the Ancestors (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Rally+the+Ancestors) + removal and disruption make for a pretty powerful deck!
Morg, if you don't mind me asking, what's your job?
That really sucks MustaKotka, I hope your relative gets better.
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Glad to hear you guys are doing well!
@ Morganator: Thanks! I'm trying to keep up with them as best I can. Whenever the bulk reprints are spoiled I won't be posting them I don't think.
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Morg, if you don't mind me asking, what's your job?
Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not revealing that. I try to be decently careful about what I post online. I know how easy it is to find people with very little information, so I try to not give away anything that people will be able to track to a location.
And yes, I do have stories about this.
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That's ok! I completely understand. I was hoping it would be something like a mascot for a sports team/amusement park or something equally hilarious lol.
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I do have stories about this.
Well, story time! We are waiting.
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I was gonna ask, too, but considering he doesn't want to tell us (understandably) about his job, I figured telling us stories about that same subject would be off limits.
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I do have stories about this.
Well, story time! We are waiting.
Very well. I agree to make all of you super suspicious of me.
I've relatively cautious about what I put out on the internet, because I know just how easy it is to stalk someone. It's why I avoid saying anything that can tie me to a location (like my job). I know it's easy to stalk someone because I'm really good at stalking people. Sketchy right? Fortunately because I have a strong moral fiber I don't use my skill without good reason. Hence the stories...
A few years back my youngest brother went missing. He was about 12 years old at the time. He was visiting a new friend's house and was supposed to call our parents when he got there to arrange a pickup time. Him not calling in worried my parents a bit, so they asked if I could find him. All they new for sure was that his friend's name was "Jake". Not a lot to work with.
I started by browsing my brother's Facebook friends looking for a "Jake". No luck there. I checked his Instagram instead, and found that he was following someone named "Jacob" with a freakishly long last name. Probably Eastern European. Anyway, I looked up that family name in the phone book and managed to find their address. Went to that house and sure enough, my brother was there. He just forgot to call in.
To this day I still haven't told him how I found him, I only ever said "You can't hide from me." This story should show how easy it is to find someone in the age of information. I managed to find a person, in a city, just based on someone's first name.
On a separate occasion, I found a lost phone. The picture on the lock screen was a young woman posing for the picture in some suburban area. I figured she was likely the girlfriend to whoever owned this phone. In the picture I could make out two important pieces of information; a street sign and a large maple tree in a front lawn. I went on Google maps, searched the street name, and then went into street view, looking for a maple tree. Once I found it, I could see which house the picture was taken from. I called that house (fortunately it still had a landline) and the woman in the picture picked up. The phone belonged to her step-brother. I didn't ask any more questions about this, I just arranged a meet-up at the local mall to hand over the phone. Not my business why her step-brother has a picture of her.
I later found out that this was a little excessive. A lot of phones have the "emergency dial" option which can bring up their most frequent contact and you can just call them. It's used in emergency situations if you need to know things like allergies and underlying medical conditions.
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I do have stories about this.
Well, story time! We are waiting.
Very well. I agree to make all of you super suspicious of me.
I've relatively cautious about what I put out on the internet, because I know just how easy it is to stalk someone. It's why I avoid saying anything that can tie me to a location (like my job). I know it's easy to stalk someone because I'm really good at stalking people. Sketchy right? Fortunately because I have a strong moral fiber I don't use my skill without good reason. Hence the stories...
A few years back my youngest brother went missing. He was about 12 years old at the time. He was visiting a new friend's house and was supposed to call our parents when he got there to arrange a pickup time. Him not calling in worried my parents a bit, so they asked if I could find him. All they new for sure was that his friend's name was "Jake". Not a lot to work with.
I started by browsing my brother's Facebook friends looking for a "Jake". No luck there. I checked his Instagram instead, and found that he was following someone named "Jacob" with a freakishly long last name. Probably Eastern European. Anyway, I looked up that family name in the phone book and managed to find their address. Went to that house and sure enough, my brother was there. He just forgot to call in.
To this day I still haven't told him how I found him, I only ever said "You can't hide from me." This story should show how easy it is to find someone in the age of information. I managed to find a person, in a city, just based on someone's first name.
On a separate occasion, I found a lost phone. The picture on the lock screen was a young woman posing for the picture in some suburban area. I figured she was likely the girlfriend to whoever owned this phone. In the picture I could make out two important pieces of information; a street sign and a large maple tree in a front lawn. I went on Google maps, searched the street name, and then went into street view, looking for a maple tree. Once I found it, I could see which house the picture was taken from. I called that house (fortunately it still had a landline) and the woman in the picture picked up. The phone belonged to her step-brother. I didn't ask any more questions about this, I just arranged a meet-up at the local mall to hand over the phone. Not my business why her step-brother has a picture of her.
I later found out that this was a little excessive. A lot of phones have the "emergency dial" option which can bring up their most frequent contact and you can just call them. It's used in emergency situations if you need to know things like allergies and underlying medical conditions.
I have similar experiences. I'm just not as cautious as Morganator. Maybe I should...
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I know it's easy to stalk someone because I'm really good at stalking people
Im curious, pm me all the info you know about me. That would be fun.
Anyway, I looked up that family name in the phone book and managed to find their address.
These still exist?
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I know it's easy to stalk someone because I'm really good at stalking people
Im curious, pm me all the info you know about me. That would be fun.
Can I take a raincheck on this? I have quite a lot of things on the to-do list for Deckstats right now. I'll add it on.
Promote current primersJudge companion competition- Write guide for using deck tools
Make Scarab God primer- Write Markdown guide
- Stalk Red_Wyrm
Also, little heads-up: of all the people on this site, I think that I'm most likely to figure out a lot about yourself. You're not as careful as you might think.
Anyway, I looked up that family name in the phone book and managed to find their address.
These still exist?
Physical phone books do still exist, even though no one uses them. But I didn't use a physical phone book. A lot of cities have online phone books that you can use.
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I am below Scarab God Primer? I am offended.
And I am sure stalking me will be pretty easy. I think I've even given the name of my university away at some point on here.
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Alright, time for me to make a new primer where Morg tells everybody who wants to exactly how much he knows about them. Kidding. Might PM him out of curiosity (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Curiosity) tho. :o
Also, why is promote current primers crossed out? Have you finished? Did you see my Kumena one (linked below ;) )? When will we have our feedback? I'm sitting at my house with absolutely nothing to do, so please, give me something. Anything. I've resorted to testing noncreature based decks, realizing it won't work for me, and feeling really bad (currently on Breya, looking promising).
Also, I'm so glad you are back, Red. The forum has slowed down without you. I have more time than ever, but people barely post anything on here.
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Also, why is promote current primers crossed out? Have you finished? Did you see my Kumena one (linked below ;) )? When will we have our feedback? I'm sitting at my house with absolutely nothing to do, so please, give me something. Anything. I've resorted to testing noncreature based decks, realizing it won't work for me, and feeling really bad (currently on Breya, looking promising).
Crap. I knew this would happen. I'll take a moment to get to it. From what I remember it looked pretty good already.
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No pressure, I'm just bored and desperate for any form of social interaction ;D
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Also, I'm so glad you are back, Red. The forum has slowed down without you. I have more time than ever, but people barely post anything on here.
Glad to be back. Nice to know I am missed.
Life just decided to kick me in the face and then stomp it into the ground while I was down. Luckily he has eased up just a tad as I enter finals week, which started Monday. We shall see what is next.
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Morgy, have you been going back and editing that list as you make progress on it?
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Morgy, have you been going back and editing that list as you make progress on it?
Yes I have. It helps to keep me on track. The deck tools guide is basically done, it's just in the editing and revision phase now. Scarab God primer is mostly done. I will probably get the markdown guide done by this weekend.
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Been a minute since we all checked in, so how is everyone doing?
I'm fine atm, almost done with all the headache that is enrolling back in college and my kids are almost done with their online learning for the year, curious to see if they start the year in school buildings or online next year. Other than that, we're starting to slowly reopen stuff here in Maryland, through Phase 1 but not sure when we'll start Phase 2.
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I dunno how tuned in people outside of the U.S. are into U.S. news, but there are currently a lot of nonviolent (and some violent) protests going on after the killings of several African-American people (the most mainstream being George Floyd) so local governments are instating curfews (10:00 PM in my area) for people who aren't "going somewhere."
Ngl, it's getting a bit worrying. I read too many dystopian novels to not cringe when I hear the words "government-enforced curfew (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Curfew)" together. Let's just hope our very shaky executive branch (if you're picking up what I'm putting down) can handle both the pandemic and the protests/riots going on.
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These protests are happening worldwide. Police brutality is an issue everywhere it seems.
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We had a protest here in Montréal as well and it invariably turned a bit violent. No curfews though, and I doubt we'll have any imposed on us unless things degenerate horribly and spill over north of the border. It is worrying though for the U.S; Trump seems to not have much interest in actually being in charge (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Charge). He loves the title of president of course, but his inaction and incompetence - despite his numerous self-congratulatory remarks - regarding the pandemic and now this possible ''civil war'' is alarming. As cliché as this will sound, the U.S. needs leadership and cohesion, and Trump is not up to the task.
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We reopened our restaurants with some limitations to number of customers and opening hours. Life seems to go back to normal.
I got accepted to university a few days ago so I've got that going for me.
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I got accepted to university a few days ago so I've got that going for me.
Heyyyyy, nice! Good job, Musta!
These protests are happening worldwide. Police brutality is an issue everywhere it seems.
I've been watching U.S. news a little bit (too much and it gets a little stressful), and they haven't been discussing anything about the rest of the world. It's interesting to hear this, I honestly thought other areas of the world, like Europe, were fine and that America, like usual, is the ugly duckling.
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I've been watching U.S. news a little bit
So I found your mistake. News outlets almost always have some sort of bias, and they also focus on the negatives. As weird as it sounds, if you check out social media outlets, you'll see the good and the bad. There are a lot of protests that are going on peacefully, and even ones where the police are marching with the protesters.
Let me give you a little preview from around the world (note that I'm posting on mobile so I don't know how well this will turn out).
Canada:
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.5592668.1590963833!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/george-floyd-protest.JPG)
Syria:
(https://gumlet.assettype.com/thequint%2F2020-06%2F43459cbf-9ac7-4e57-af4a-252fc282eec0%2FEZa322PXYAAFyZC.jpeg?rect=0%2C0%2C1600%2C900&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=320&dpr=2.6)
United Kingdom:
(https://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20200602&t=2&i=1520825563&r=LYNXMPEG511Y0&w=940)
Australia:
(https://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20200602&t=2&i=1520759106&r=LYNXMPEG510OW&w=1680)
If you avoid the major media outlets, you will see all kinds of reasons to have hope for this. I've seen a police officer chase away another officer for assaulting a protestor. I've seen a group of people stand guard and protect a local establishment from looters. I've seen police officers take a knee in solidarity (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Solidarity) with the protesters. There is a lot of good happening in the world right now, you just have to know where to look.
Just don't forget (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Forget) that there is still a pandemic going on.
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Well that's heartwarming to know that it's not just the U.S. that's dealing with this.
I've tried to avoid the major media outlets (that's why I said I've only seen news a little), and I've definitely seen videos of cops walking with and helping peacefully protest.
Unfortunately, even a lot of social media twists the story to make all cops bad, but that's obviously a stinking load of bullcrap.
I think that the bias of major media outlets combined with the confusion that is trying to coordinate on social media combined with Covid combined with criminals and Neo-Nazis taking advantage of this whole situation makes it hard to know what's right and true. It's sad, if you think about it.
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Sooooo I went to a "protest" last night to see what it was exactly. I mean we all see the clips of the ones that go extremely wrong. I wanted to see what a regular protest looked like so I went to one. I got off work at around 10 PM, got to the protest around 10:30. It was pretty lame. Just a big crowd of people. I saw a few things spray painted on walls and windows of shops. SWAT (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Swat) along with the national guard and regular police with riot gear (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Riot+Gear) were there. I got bored so I left at about 11. Then I hear it got interesting. It turned into a riot like you see on Fox or CNN with people raiding and looting shops, breaking stuff lighting crap on fire; the whole nine yards. Then the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. Well starting today, they instituted a curfew (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Curfew) of 8 PM, which is absolutely government overreach, but at the same time, they cannot have these riots continue.
I always thought the protesting was fine, and that the looting and other criminal activities that these protests seem to devolve into are not, but it never impacted me directly. This happened 5 minutes from where I live. I do not get it. It is really simple. Justice (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Justice) for George Floyd? How is breaking into the local jeweler's shop and stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and doing more thousands of dollars worth of damages justice (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Justice) for George Floyd? How are you going to complain that you're being targeted by cops and then do criminal stuff, making the cops target you?
The officer who killed George Floyd has been arrested. Floyd is getting justice (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Justice), the right way. Injustice isn't going to bring him back.
Everything else in life is going about the same too so just fuck me apparently; my new boss likes me though.
@Morganator
Those pictures you posted, why does it have to be a race thing? I haven't seen any evidence to suggest the officer was racist, just a douche bag shit head who sucked at his job.
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Those pictures you posted, why does it have to be a race thing? I haven't seen any evidence to suggest the officer was racist, just a douche bag shit head who sucked at his job.
Time to go over my favorite thing: the stats.
Most of the scientific journals I could link on these studies are locked behind a paywall. Instead this website gives a good summary of the data.
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
Unfortunately the data is only for the united states. But it does show that there is a bias towards blacks and hispanics in lethal encounters with law enforcement. This sentence sums it up nicely:
Black people were 24% of those killed despite being only 13% of the population.
That's a pretty significant difference, considering that if there was no bias, you would expect blacks to be 13% of those killed. That's why these protests are a matter of race. We're well aware of this bias, and it needs to stop. And of course all lives matter, that's obvious, but it's the black lives that need help right now.
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Arizona and Florida just hit max capacity at ICU wards. The curve was not flattened. More states will follow soon.
Stay home. Stay safe.
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Arizona and Florida just hit max capacity at ICU wards. The curve was not flattened. More states will follow soon.
Stay home. Stay safe.
From a european perspective: Lets hope you president or at least the governers will start to understand that not everything is perfect..
And I will definiately not say that the way most countries in europe used was the best possible how to handle the crisis.
But in the States (and many other countries) it is looking currently way more terrifying.
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Arizona and Florida just hit max capacity at ICU wards. The curve was not flattened. More states will follow soon.
Stay home. Stay safe.
That's not cool. Not cool at all. I hope you guys are safe and that the curve flattens soon for USA. Otherwise it's going to be a horrible mess. Or a mass tragedy.
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Some areas of the US are seeing the number of cases dip while others are seeing an increased amount. The difference seems to be the states that are more aggressive on what they're reopening are the states where the cases are seeing an uptick. I won't be surprised to see the states with the uptick start reverting to earlier phases of reopening to try to get the curve back under control.
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Some areas of the US are seeing the number of cases dip while others are seeing an increased amount. The difference seems to be the states that are more aggressive on what they're reopening are the states where the cases are seeing an uptick. I won't be surprised to see the states with the uptick start reverting to earlier phases of reopening to try to get the curve back under control.
Dou you have any good link to follow the actual numbers of new infections per state in The US?
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Here's the best one I've seen. It bases it on the last 7 days.
https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases
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I feel like I should give a bit of a personalized update of sorts. A lot of you announced in this thread where you live, so I'll be able to give good/bad news based on your area.
19 states have been "Red zoned", which means that they have more than 100 new cases per 100 000 people. 10 of these states (and Washington) also had over 10% of the tests come back positive. Tennessee is one of the states with more than 100 new cases per 100 000 people. Stay safe WizardSpartan. WWolfe, you're in the clear for now. Maryland isn't on the list. If either of you happen to also have kids, see if homeschooling is an option this fall. No one should be going to school in-person.
In Canada, a new algorithm for Covid cases was put into place. Before, a case was only given an "outcome" if the person was either discharged from a hospital, or dead. Now if nothing is heard from the person between 14 and 28 days, it is assumed that the person recovered. As a result, Canada's active cases have dropped to less than 5000 with these new calculations.
It's not all good news for the white north. The "Alaska loophole" allows Americans to cross through Canada, on the condition that they are going to Alaska. However, a lot of Americans are instead staying in Vancouver or Calgary. Fortunately, Marshstepper78 is on the other side of the country.
Ireland is having a problem similar to the Alaska loophole. While most of Europe has banned American travelers, Ireland allows them in on the condition that they self-isolate for 14 days. Guess what's not happening? I don't know which part of the UK you're in CleanBelwas, but this is something to be aware of.
Japan (along with a few other countries) are about to hit their second wave. The number of daily new cases is steadily increasing, and has been for the past month or so. Luckily, despite Japan's high population density, they managed to keep the number of active cases really low the first time. Keep up the good work Slyvester12.
Meanwhile, Finland is putting everyone to shame, with less than 200 active cases. MustaKotka is straight crushing it. I don't actually have anything else to say about Finland, which is a good thing (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=A+Good+Thing) when we're talking about pandemics.
And now some good news for everyone. The Oxford vaccine was able to trigger an immune response in test subjects, with only slight side effects (light fever and other minor flu symptoms). The actual name of the vaccine is ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, but no one is ever going to say that out loud, so stick to Oxford vaccine. The next stage of the clinical trial will involve increasing the sample size, as well as getting participants from Brazil, South Africa, and the UK. There are also 137 total vaccines on trial, with three of them also in stage 3 of testing. If all goes well for the Oxford vaccine, it should be ready for mass production by the end of this year.
Oh, and unlike a lot of research articles, this one isn't behind a paywall. Here's the link if you're interested.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31604-4/fulltext
This is absolutely good news. Phenomenally good. This is how we beat the pandemic. Produce the vaccine in massive quantities, and get people immunized. Give the virus no avenue for it to spread.
Until then, wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home, and stay safe.
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Thanks for the update! Nice to know how other people are doing - or rather - how their countries are doing
Meanwhile, Finland is putting everyone to shame, with less than 200 active cases.
I have no idea what we're doing right at the moment. I fear (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Fear) the second wave might change everything but for now life over here is very normal. About 5% of the people I see on the street wear masks and public transportation is operating normally. Only schools, universities and mass gatherings are not a thing. This might change in the autumn if everything stays as is.
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I hate to ruin Japan's good image, but the government here did everything they could to mess this up. They delayed every responsible action until public outcry started to build, then refused to do anything more than the minimum necessary. At my job, we were required to come to work at first. Then, weeks after people started working from home, the government let us work from home TWICE A WEEK. This in a small office packed with around 70 people from different cities. Finally, foreigners were allowed to work from home because the embassies were threatening to ship us all back if requested, and local governments were about to lose thousands of employees. That lasted for a little over a month, then schools reopened in full, but everyone was required to wear a mask, calling that satisfactory despite packing classrooms with 40+ kids and not sanitizing or enforcing mask use to any real extent.
The only reason Japan's numbers have been low is:
1. People here wear a mask when sick, pandemic or not. Telling everyone to wear a mask at all times was not that big of a deal. Around 5-10% of the population already refuse to go outside without a mask, and certain designer masks are popular among young people.
2. The government has quietly but VERY firmly suppressed testing and releasing numbers of positive cases. Japanese doctors are pretty willing to downplay symptoms normally so that corporate "salarymen" don't have excuses to skip work, and they applied the same level of medical nonchalance to the pandemic.
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If either of you happen to also have kids, see if homeschooling is an option this fall. No one should be going to school in-person.
All they've done here so far is send out a couple surveys asking what the parents would like to see happen (regular school, online school, or two possible hybrid options- one where they would go every other day or or one where they would go every other week). They're also yet to release a school calendar for the coming year, which is usually out before the prior school year ends.
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Tennessee is one of the states with more than 100 new cases per 100 000 people. Stay safe WizardSpartan. WWolfe, you're in the clear for now. Maryland isn't on the list. If either of you happen to also have kids, see if homeschooling is an option this fall. No one should be going to school in-person.
(https://i.imgflip.com/3bsied.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/msKQNOv.gif)
Yeah, we Tennesseans aren't exactly the brightest. The school system in my area isn't providing the best of options and our wonderful governor isn't willing to do anything except pander to Trump, so epic.
I'm fine for now, as I can sit at home and just not go out, but we will definitely have hard decisions to make when school starts up. Blegh.
All they've done here so far is send out a couple surveys asking what the parents would like to see happen (regular school, online school, or two possible hybrid options- one where they would go every other day or or one where they would go every other week). They're also yet to release a school calendar for the coming year, which is usually out before the prior school year ends.
Good luck with that lmao. I hope your system does a better job than mine (wouldn't take much tbh).
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If either of you happen to also have kids, see if homeschooling is an option this fall. No one should be going to school in-person.
I certainly hope my husband doesn't have kids. He is still in high school for crying out loud. And I would hope I'd know if I had any step kids.
How is your area, wherever that may be, doing Morgy?
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How is your area, wherever that may be, doing Morgy?
Probably cannot disclose this information considering one of us could reverse engineer (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Reverse+Engineer) the city based on the numbers.
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You're absolutely right, so I'll just keep it vague.
The place where I live has handled the pandemic really well, but people are getting reckless. Restaurants have reopened, bars are having parties, and while most people are good at wearing masks in stores and private places, no one does it in public places (like parks). My local game store has fully opened up now and people from my playgroup are going. They're also sharing food while there, which is a stunningly bad idea. They don't seem to understand that just because some restrictions have been relaxed, does not mean the pandemic is over. This is just like how the second wave of Spanish flu started.
It's crazy to think that I've become so anti-social that I get mad at other people socializing.
Most of my friends know better though. My D&D group still has everyone not wanting to meet up (most of us are scientists in something) and most of my magic playgroup knows better than to go out. Even though one of them wanted us to do an in-person Fallen Empires draft, I managed to talk everyone into doing it over Cockatrice with minimal resistance.
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My ex-wife came down to see the kids yesterday, last night she was called by her C.O. (she's in the military) and was told that Maryland had been added back to the list of restricted states by NY due to the cases spiking somewhat. So when she returns from leave she has to get tested and self-quarantine until she gets the results.
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How is your area, wherever that may be, doing Morgy?
Probably cannot disclose this information considering one of us could reverse engineer (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Reverse+Engineer) the city based on the numbers.
You're absolutely right, so I'll just keep it vague.
The place where I live has handled the pandemic really well, but people are getting reckless. Restaurants have reopened, bars are having parties, and while most people are good at wearing masks in stores and private places, no one does it in public places (like parks). My local game store has fully opened up now and people from my playgroup are going. They're also sharing food while there, which is a stunningly bad idea. They don't seem to understand that just because some restrictions have been relaxed, does not mean the pandemic is over. This is just like how the second wave of Spanish flu started.
So Morg's city has restaurants, bars, parks, an LGS, and most importantly, there are people there. Also, he plays D&D.
That's all I need. Time to head to the dark web (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Web) and work my way backwards until I have his exact location.
/s
I certainly hope my husband doesn't have kids. He is still in high school for crying out loud. And I would hope I'd know if I had any step kids.
Don't you worry, baby, whenever I discuss school in my area, I'm only talking about myself. ;)
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So Morg's city has restaurants, bars, parks, an LGS, and most importantly, there are people there. Also, he plays D&D.
That's all I need. Time to head to the dark web (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Web) and work my way backwards until I have his exact location.
/s
I get that you're making a joke, but I did some back-tracking on myself recently. Based on information I've given on this site alone, you could narrow down my location to about 5 different cities, and definitely figure out which country I'm in. I really should go back and edit those posts, but that seems like a lot of effort.
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omg it f***ing sucks aaaaaaa >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
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So how is everyone doing now?
I've started back to school and it's online due to the pandemic. My son started back to college today (his school moved back into the dorms this past weekend) and the school already has 11 people in quarantine and 1 case of Covid. Not sure how long they'll end up staying on campus if it continues like it's starting.
ETA- Also not feeling too confident in my younger kids doing online school this fall. Other states have been having major issues with their online blackboards and Zoom classrooms. Hell, our school system can't even get on the same page about when you can see your kids schedule online (they sent a letter out saying you can NOW but when you call the school because your login doesn't work they tell you it's actually not until Sept. 1st).
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My school is run by a bunch of monkeys, to put it simply. I managed to get all of my classes except one (to get credit for it, I would have to do hands-on work, which I can't do from home), which was nice, though. My teachers seem to be doing either extremely well or basically ignoring online (either because they don't really care or because they don't understand how all this works). I'm definitely lucky in that my more difficult classes that give me college credit if I do well (such as AP or CLEP) have teachers that are on top of everything.
WWolfe, that sounds tough. I can't imagine having a kid going to a dorm with all that's going on, and trying to get younger kids to actually pay attention online and do their work sounds like absolute hell. Good luck with that. :l
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I'm definitely lucky in that my more difficult classes that give me college credit if I do well (such as AP or CLEP)
Now I feel old.
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I'm definitely lucky in that my more difficult classes that give me college credit if I do well (such as AP or CLEP)
Now I feel old.
What? Are you talking about not having those types of classes when you were in school?
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Trying to organize game stores to run events safely is proving to be a challenge. We're pretty sure we've got a solid setup now, but I'm still skeptical. I've learned that whenever you make something idiot proof, the universe sends a bigger idiot. And that is not something we can tolerate in a pandemic. Tuesday is the first commander night in 6 months, and we've got a bunch of safety measures in place. I'll let you know how it goes.
A lot of people in my playgroup are still worried about going out, so I'm trying to also set up play over Discord. I got to try out webcam play for the first time. Man does it suck. Mic problems, losing connection, not being able to read cards, and a load of other problems. Why everyone wanted this over Cockatrice is beyond me.
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A lot of people in my playgroup are still worried about going out, so I'm trying to also set up play over Discord. I got to try out webcam play for the first time. Man does it suck. Mic problems, losing connection, not being able to read cards, and a load of other problems. Why everyone wanted this over Cockatrice is beyond me.
Resolving certain things on CT is also a pain in the butt. Anything that involves looking at the top of your library is really painful. But it's still better than dying.
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I got to try out webcam play for the first time. Man does it suck. Mic problems, losing connection, not being able to read cards, and a load of other problems. Why everyone wanted this over Cockatrice is beyond me.
This is super interesting. Personally, I've found webcam way more preferable to any digital platform. Mic problems and connection issues haven't been a problem for my group which probably helps this, but ultimately I prefer just because it is so much more intuitive and instinctive. The gameplay just feels a lot smoother, more natural and much more like an actual game of magic. Not being able to look at opponents cards is the biggest issue, but if communication is good (and I'm lucky enough that it is in my group), this is a small hurdle to overcome (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Overcome) and in my opinion a much more preferable issue to have than the amount of busywork required to play on magic sims.
Whatever form it takes though, playing some magic is better than playing no magic at all, and like MustaKotka says, it's better than the alternative and all worth it to stay safe.
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I'm definitely lucky in that my more difficult classes that give me college credit if I do well (such as AP or CLEP)
Now I feel old.
What? Are you talking about not having those types of classes when you were in school?
No, I was just somehow under the impression that we were of a similar age. Turns out I was wrong by close to a decade, I'm guessing.
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So a college 15 minutes from my sons college just reported nearly 200 virus cases. These kids all shop in the same stores and eat at the same restaurants.
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My high school has reported 2 new Covid cases yesterday and 3 more today. I know enough about exponential functions to know where this is going. Glad I decided against going in-school at all!
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So a college 15 minutes from my sons college just reported nearly 200 virus cases.
That is more cases than in my city right now. Stay safe.
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So a college 15 minutes from my sons college just reported nearly 200 virus cases.
That is more cases than in my city right now. Stay safe.
You'll love this then. University of Alabama has more than 1,000 cases since the first day of classes on the 19th.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/08/28/covid-cases-university-of-alabama/5662754002/
ETA- link
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So what's new with everyone? Because I just had to shut down the commander event that I worked so hard to set up. Elementary and high schools opened up with absolutely no plan for Covid-19 protection, so now cases are spiking here. While nothing official has been announced yet, I have contacts that say the government is going to begin shutting down high-traffic areas like restaurants and bars. Things will slowly begin to shut down as we go back into quarantine.
I mean, I saw this coming and made plans to shut down the commander event in case something exactly like this happened, but it still sucks that it did.
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Our school gave us the option of going hybrid (2 days in-school, 3 days virtual) or completely virtual. If you wanted to go in, you had to wear masks and there was 6 foot distancing. Still, there was an outbreak (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Outbreak) (cases in the double digits) and everybody had to go home for a couple weeks. We are back again, though, for better or worse (definitely worse, though). There's been some murmurings that we should go virtual 100% of the time because of how disruptive going from hybrid + virtual -> just virtual has been for the hybrid students & teachers (I did the smart thing and went virtual, so nothing changed for me haha).
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My son ended up coming home from college because of the number of cases on campus. They gave the students the options for distance learning and he took it.
My daughters school ended up doing virtual learning for the first semester and are going to decide about the second semester before it starts.
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I've got long distance studies as well. Nothing else to report. Number of cases are on the rise...
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Hello!
How are you guys doing? I would like to start a discussion about the effect on the pandemic on your life?
Are you struggeling mentally, or does it effect other parts of your life in a negative way?
Maybe it has also a good impact on your life because of advantages in your job?
What are your opinions.
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This topic already exists so I'm just gonna go ahead and merge the two.
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It's been awhile since I've looked at this thread, so here's an update.
I've been fully vaccinated, my fiance and I both got into our grad school of choice, and my current job is doing a much, MUCH, better job of following safety guidelines than my last.
So, life is going pretty well, all things considered.
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It's been awhile since I've looked at this thread, so here's an update.
I've been fully vaccinated, my fiance and I both got into our grad school of choice, and my current job is doing a much, MUCH, better job of following safety guidelines than my last.
So, life is going pretty well, all things considered.
Nice!
I also got vaccinated, but still can't go out as much as I would like (variants that the vaccine doesn't protect against have been popping up + people who have been vaccinated can still be asymptomatic carriers).
Still, progress is progress.
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Just living and enjoying life. Going to breweries every weekend, playing commander almost every Friday, only 2 weeks left of school then summer break (teacher life is the best life), saying goodbye to a great class of seniors, but they are going off to start the next stage of their lives, so again all good things.
We live in a crazy world and I don't want to be afraid to keep living it, so I have fully embraced a return to normal life.
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It's good to hear that everyone is starting to return to normalcy. It's going to take a long time for me to revert to the before-times. Meanwhile things are bad. Our stay-at-home order got extended again. The vaccination program is really slow where I am. I should be fully vaccinated by the end of September and it's going to take longer for everyone else.
In a lot of parts of the world it will soon be safe to return to our games stores again. You can bet that there's going to be a bunch of new players, so it will be a great time to foster (https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=en&card=Foster) a community around the game. So that's something to look forward to. There's going to be a crazy party once this is over, but I'm going to play it safe until then.
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I'm back!
School has slowed down but work has picked up (but not meaning more hours, just more patients). I should be around more now than I have been the past little bit.
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I've been away. I've had loads of work to do, been playing paper magic and recently I got a new relationship partner (for a total of two) so that's been taking up my time too. Covid over here has reduced to masks on the buses and shops. Got my first microchip last week so I'll be fully vaccinated next fall just like Morg. It's been really warm so I've been swimming and participating in other summer activities. I'm not really back per se but I'm alive and well.