Timely message to all

I hope everyone is doing ok.

I'm still going out and working on 2 new construction installations that ar e in progress and doing service calls, but keeping my distance from other w orkers which are few. I'm arriving on the job at 3 to 4 PM and working into the evening till 9 10 PM which pretty much leaves me alone on the job with no one else to come in contact with.

Service calls seem less than usual so I have to assume it's because of the Virus slowdown. Only did two in the last few days and only have two schedul ed for next week so far. One of them the people went to their house in the woods in Pennsylvania, so their house here will be empty for me to work in. The other is someone new to the area moving into one of my old customers c ondo, so I'm thinking they're kind of skittish about the new area and want protection more than being concerned about me coming into their personal sp ace.

Most people I've spoken to don't seem that concerned over the situation but they're taking normal precautions. Some are working at home. Some are work ing reduced hours. I went out on two estimates last week but I'm thinking t hat it will probably be an extended period of time before they get back to me. I've got my existing new construction jobs to keep me busy for awhile b ut I expect a slowdown in the future as a result of people being out of wor k etc.

I've got some money owed to me but not enough to hamper paying my bills (ye t) this month and probably next month

So we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.

I'm wondering if any of the small business assistance from the government w ill be available to me if things get worse to a point that I can't pay my b ills. I'm only a one man company so I don't know how this is going to work and if I'll comply with the requirements.

How's everyone else doing?

Reply to
Jim Davis
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Hi Jim,

Being in the state of Pennsylvania the Governor shut me down for "construction" but not for "service calls" as of last Thursday at 8pm.

I am doing about the same. But since "ALL" construction is to be closed down it makes it difficult to just go and show up.

Maybe some reclassification needs to be done. One big project I am at a point that I need a lot of the "others" to get done so I can continue. Like the flooring and painting guys.

Pleased be advised that a for the government they consider "Small Business" to be companies with 50 or more employees. I don't think that does much help you and me very much.

Then again time will tell. I am guessing fill out an application and throw it against the wall and see if it happens to stick.................. or not.

For me my concerns go more for the customers paying their annual monitoring fees when due. I hate being the bad guy!

I hope all here pull through these bad times.

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

t are in progress and doing service calls, but keeping my distance from oth er workers which are few. I'm arriving on the job at 3 to 4 PM and working into the evening till 9 10 PM which pretty much leaves me alone on the job with no one else to come in contact with.

the Virus slowdown. Only did two in the last few days and only have two sch eduled for next week so far. One of them the people went to their house in the woods in Pennsylvania, so their house here will be empty for me to work in. The other is someone new to the area moving into one of my old custome rs condo, so I'm thinking they're kind of skittish about the new area and w ant protection more than being concerned about me coming into their persona l space.

but they're taking normal precautions. Some are working at home. Some are working reduced hours. I went out on two estimates last week but I'm thinki ng that it will probably be an extended period of time before they get back to me. I've got my existing new construction jobs to keep me busy for awhi le but I expect a slowdown in the future as a result of people being out of work etc.

nt will be available to me if things get worse to a point that I can't pay my bills. I'm only a one man company so I don't know how this is going to w ork and if I'll comply with the requirements.

Interesting point you bring up.

I'm told that in NY we are considered an "essential" business but no one ha s specified whether that applies to new installations or just service calls .

I'll have to try and find out about that.

Reply to
Jim Davis

Yes, it seems that each State Governor is making their own decisions as to how to handle things. Governor Wolf today selected certain counties that ALL residents of that county must stay home. No exceptions.

I heard that all are on notice if anyone should see a violator, they need to be reported.

Could this get any worse??? ABSOLUTELY!! Just wait a couple of days.

Reply to
ABLE1

I'm not sure trying to find out is the answer, if possible we should all just stop going out for any reason other than food, medical and other genuinely essential reasons.

A fire alarm perhaps might be considered essential, but security alarms, CCTV and home entertainment are for the most part not really essential no matter what loopholes we might find to justify going to work.

I understand the economic devastation this will cause, but its difficult to spend your hard earned money if you're six foot under, or to spend it with a guilt free conscience if you unknowingly take the virus home and/or spread it to your family and customers.

This is going to get incalculably worse in the coming days, weeks and months no matter what we do and people not adhering to stay at home orders/advice will only make it worse.

I don't know what other people in this group are doing but I would say to everyone - just do the right thing, stay home if possible and try to stay safe

Doug

Reply to
doug

Over the past few days there have been two home invasions in just MY area. People robbed on the street. Suspicious cars roaming the streets recording neighborhoods.

New York has the highest incidence of the virus. Yet in the far reaches of the state by the Canadian boarder there are none. Population density is a definite factor.

The rules are different for everyone depending where you are located. I have a customer that I will see today. Their fire alarm continuously tripping. They will leave a key for me and have agreed to not be home when I get there.

My wife is a nurse and we have an ample supply of rubber gloves. I'm putting on rubber gloves when I arrive and will remove them before I get back in the truck and leave them at the site.

Some of us (like you) have a job. It's nice to be able to stay home from a job. Some of us own companies.

Reply to
Jim Davis

Different industry, but its mixed. I ordered some raw materials from a new vendor over the weekend and they shipped on Monday. A little more expensive than my regular material vendor, but quite a bit faster than their 3-5 days to prep and ship orders. I ordered the exact same order from both vendors on Saturday. The cheaper one hasn't shipped, but that's normal for them. Anyway, its good to know I can still order stock as I need it instead of having to stock up more than I usually do. My other main vendors all shipped weekend orders on Monday. I was more worried about supply side until yesterday. It could of course still get worse, but I think saner minds will prevail over the total "sky is falling" that the media wants us to believe.

On the sales side I've had from 2 to 6 months backlog of work for a few years at any given time. I try to keep it down to around 2, but when you get big orders its hard to turn down the money. I'm down to just a few weeks backlog of work, and part of that is waiting on specialty tools for special jobs. Its a little worrisome, but I can always create a new product and generate a few sales if stock and custom work remains down. I've mentioned products I am working on to a couple customers that were met with enthusiasm. If it gets slower it just means more time to develop and test prototypes. New products always generate a few sales.

Last week had a positive blip with a lot of small sales on "stock" designs. I figure a lot of guys are stuck at home so they were bored and ordered stuff.

Remember that vendor I mentioned that shipped stock right away. They called me this morning to sound me out about doing some of their machining work. They tried to sound up beat by saying about 80% of the shops they work with are still going, but that told me that 20% of the shops they work with aren't. I hope their employees have jobs to come back to when its all over.

It might get tough, but unless we have actual deaths in the family we will be fine.

As of this morning we have seen a death rate of confirmed cases of about

1.2% in the USA per the CDC. This is with a virus for which there is no vaccine. Its no worse than a modestly bad contemporary flu year. I get it if its one of yours that is one of that 1.2%, but I don't see any reason for the mass hysteria. That's 1.2% of CONFIRMED cases. Not 1.2% of the population. Far below the CDCs own published threshold for the "pandemic" they are pushing. The damage to the economy already done is far worse than anything from COVID-19 so far. The economic damage could get far worse. We are much closer to a world wide economic tipping point than we were after the 05/06 crash.

Anyway I am not overly worried, but of those things i spend some time worrying about the economic fallout concerns me far more than this strain of Corona Virus.

I hope you all are well and take realistic steps towards the future.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

The mortality rate of flu is normally about 0.1% of those infected. The global mortality rate of Covid-19 is somewhere around 3.4% of those infected according to WHO The mortality rate in the US might be a low as 1.2% at the moment, I'll take your word for it since I couldn't find a figure from the CDC today. But even if the US rate stays at 1.2% that's still 12 times higher than flu Covid-19 is far more infectious than flu and since its a brand new coronavirus there is little or no immunity to it and unlike the flu there is no vaccine for it, so left unchecked many more people will be infected than in a flu season. So even if the mortality rate stays at around 1.2% of infections, which I doubt, the sheer number of people infected likely to get infected with covid-19 means the mortality rate of the population as a whole will be much higher than with a "regular" flu season.

I get it, that the damage to the economy is immense and many small and large business's may not make it.

You pay your money, you take your choice.

I'll put my money on the scientists, not the politicians.

I too hope that everyone stays well and that I am wrong in my interpretation of the current situation.

Doug

Reply to
doug

On 3/24/2020 6:16 PM, doug wrote: > "Bob La Londe" wrote in message > news:r5e7lq$1849$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org... >> On 3/22/2020 4:29 PM, Jim Davis wrote: >>> I hope everyone is doing ok. >>> >>> I'm still going out and working on 2 new construction installations that >>> are in progress and doing service calls, but keeping my distance from >>> other workers which are few. I'm arriving on the job at 3 to 4 PM and >>> working into the evening till 9 10 PM which pretty much leaves me alone >>> on the job with no one else to come in contact with. >>> >>> Service calls seem less than usual so I have to assume it's because of >>> the Virus slowdown. Only did two in the last few days and only have two >>> scheduled for next week so far. One of them the people went to their >>> house in the woods in Pennsylvania, so their house here will be empty for >>> me to work in. The other is someone new to the area moving into one of my >>> old customers condo, so I'm thinking they're kind of skittish about the >>> new area and want protection more than being concerned about me coming >>> into their personal space. >>> >>> Most people I've spoken to don't seem that concerned over the situation >>> but they're taking normal precautions. Some are working at home. Some are >>> working reduced hours. I went out on two estimates last week but I'm >>> thinking that it will probably be an extended period of time before they >>> get back to me. I've got my existing new construction jobs to keep me >>> busy for awhile but I expect a slowdown in the future as a result of >>> people being out of work etc. >>> >>> I've got some money owed to me but not enough to hamper paying my bills >>> (yet) >>> this month and probably next month >>> >>> So we'll see what happens over the next few weeks. >>> >>> I'm wondering if any of the small business assistance from the government >>> will be available to me if things get worse to a point that I can't pay >>> my bills. I'm only a one man company so I don't know how this is going to >>> work and if I'll comply with the requirements. >>> >>> How's everyone else doing? >>> >> >> >> Different industry, but its mixed. I ordered some raw materials from a >> new vendor over the weekend and they shipped on Monday. A little more >> expensive than my regular material vendor, but quite a bit faster than >> their 3-5 days to prep and ship orders. I ordered the exact same order >> from both vendors on Saturday. The cheaper one hasn't shipped, but that's >> normal for them. Anyway, its good to know I can still order stock as I >> need it instead of having to stock up more than I usually do. My other >> main vendors all shipped weekend orders on Monday. I was more worried >> about supply side until yesterday. It could of course still get worse, >> but I think saner minds will prevail over the total "sky is falling" that >> the media wants us to believe. >> >> On the sales side I've had from 2 to 6 months backlog of work for a few >> years at any given time. I try to keep it down to around 2, but when you >> get big orders its hard to turn down the money. I'm down to just a few >> weeks backlog of work, and part of that is waiting on specialty tools for >> special jobs. Its a little worrisome, but I can always create a new >> product and generate a few sales if stock and custom work remains down. >> I've mentioned products I am working on to a couple customers that were >> met with enthusiasm. If it gets slower it just means more time to develop >> and test prototypes. New products always generate a few sales. >> >> Last week had a positive blip with a lot of small sales on "stock" >> designs. I figure a lot of guys are stuck at home so they were bored and >> ordered stuff. >> >> Remember that vendor I mentioned that shipped stock right away. They >> called me this morning to sound me out about doing some of their machining >> work. They tried to sound up beat by saying about 80% of the shops they >> work with are still going, but that told me that 20% of the shops they >> work with aren't. I hope their employees have jobs to come back to when >> its all over. >> >> It might get tough, but unless we have actual deaths in the family we will >> be fine. >> >> As of this morning we have seen a death rate of confirmed cases of about >> 1.2% in the USA per the CDC. This is with a virus for which there is no >> vaccine. Its no worse than a modestly bad contemporary flu year. I get >> it if its one of yours that is one of that 1.2%, but I don't see any >> reason for the mass hysteria. That's 1.2% of CONFIRMED cases. Not

1.2% of >> the population. Far below the CDCs own published threshold for the >> "pandemic" they are pushing. The damage to the economy already done is >> far worse than anything from COVID-19 so far. The economic damage could >> get far worse. We are much closer to a world wide economic tipping point >> than we were after the 05/06 crash. >> >> Anyway I am not overly worried, but of those things i spend some time >> worrying about the economic fallout concerns me far more than this strain >> of Corona Virus. >> >> I hope you all are well and take realistic steps towards the future. > > The mortality rate of flu is normally about 0.1% of those infected. > The global mortality rate of Covid-19 is somewhere around 3.4% of those > infected according to WHO > The mortality rate in the US might be a low as 1.2% at the moment, I'll take > your word for it since I couldn't find a figure from the CDC today. But even > if the US rate stays at 1.2% that's still 12 times higher than flu > Covid-19 is far more infectious than flu and since its a brand new > coronavirus there is little or no immunity to it and unlike the flu there is > no vaccine for it, so left unchecked many more people will be infected than > in a flu season. > So even if the mortality rate stays at around 1.2% of infections, which I > doubt, the sheer number of people infected likely to get infected with > covid-19 means the mortality rate of the population as a whole will be much > higher than with a "regular" flu season. > > I get it, that the damage to the economy is immense and many small and large > business's may not make it. > > You pay your money, you take your choice. > > I'll put my money on the scientists, not the politicians. > > I too hope that everyone stays well and that I am wrong in my interpretation > of the current situation. > > Doug > >

611/48800 this morning. I am sure they changed during the day. Its the politicians and the media creating the frenzy, but its the frenzied who will destroy the world. Not a virus.

You deliberately chose not to hear what I said about flu. I said a "bad flu year" in contemporary times. Years when they get the vaccine wrong and the strains are stronger. The death toll is much higher than the average contemporary year. I'm not talking about going back 100 years. Just in your lifetime.

So, you don't think the suicides, murders, and and deaths from poor health care of a collapsed economy that will last not for one year, but several, are worth considering. Ok. Your choice. I'll send any referrals to Les & Jim.

Underlying a lot of people's attidutes seems to be some misunderstanding that working for money so your family survives is somehow wrong. Society uses money as an "equitable" currency for exchange of goods and services. Its inherent in society world wide, that those without money survive on the charity of others. In local economies where few have money many don't because there isn't much charity to give. No politician can tax me for what I don't have to force me to give it to those who choose not to work.

If those who create jobs do not survive (businesses not just the owners) then you have a society with little money for everybody, not just the business owners.

There is another problem many have not considered. Civil rights in the USA are under attack during this government shutdown. Once a battle is lost its lost. Rarely is an inch lost ever recovered.

Worse? What if I am right. That its self important chest beating and political hay making. A bunch of opportunists using it to their own political advantage. If there is really a hard corp pandemic the death toll will be much higher before anybody will believe it.

Or you could be right. #boomerremover. There will be more freed up wealth for those who survive.

The sky is falling, Chicken Little

Reply to
Bob La Londe

The thing I've learned over all the years... "Numbers" can be made to say anything you want them too.....

Gonna step out now and tell the tale from old ages point of view...

"Faith" will keep you going, Live or Die, others will survive..

Give them "Faith" to keep going, by the way you live...

Reply to
RTS

Thanks Bob, but the travel time is gonna cost the customer a lot!!

Today I am going to go to the site with the Dictograph panel. First step will be to ID the unlabeled wiring rats nest. BTW no residents in the house, just the caretaker.

This will be a day to remember.

Hope all have a good safe day as well!!

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

If somebody local will not take care of them it might be worth it. Used to have FBII send me referrals for panel owners in remote locations from time to time. Most were just thrilled to have somebody willing to come at all.

I grew up in a less remote area. Maybe 60 miles from town. My dad and I learned to do all the electrical, plumbing, and refrigeration work we needed done for our grocery store (and many other things). We just couldn't get service companies to come out at all. I took my refrigeration certification course (mail order) when I was 14 I think. In later years as a contractor I had a number of big cooling companies as regular clients. I think they were impressed that I actually knew atleast roughly how everything worked. My dad had a handy man service on the side that actually generated more revenue than his hardware store. People were thrilled to get things fixed. He's a retired snowbird now (sunbird?) and he still just about always has handy man jobs going.

Ok. 1900 miles might be a bit far for a service call, but I had clients from 200-300 miles away. Some of them actually had service companies that were closer, but they couldn't get them to come out and do service for them. I charged them for my travel time, but they were just happy to have somebody who knew what they were doing fix their stuff. One was a school. Whenever I had to go out there I planned a full day of it. I'd fix what they called me for, and then ask what else they had that was broken to save on another travel charge. My truck looked like the moving scene from the Beverly Hillbillies when ever I headed their way, so I would be prepared.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Bob, It would seem that your Dad had the work right ethic to figure out things on his own. And that work ethic was passed down properly.

My Dad was the same. He was the top Ford Mechanic at a local dealership for 28 years before he retired. He always had the ability to figure out stuff of other trades. When he did have someone come into the house to fix something, he was always looking over the guys shoulder and asking questions. Got enough input to not need that service call again.

I learned a lot of his ways, either by direct contact or snarfing it while watching others.

Drives me crazy when the wife says she is going to call a plumber to fix a leaking faucet or other stuff.

As for those long distant customers, I have had a few as well but they have since closed up shop. And yes, they were very happy to pay the travel time.

This is good conversation that brings back some good memories. :-)

Thanks Bob!!

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

The above sounds like a paraphrased excerpt from Ayn Rand's ---- Atlas Shrugged.

Turns out she was more a prophet than a philosopher

Reply to
Jim Davis

Interestingly as an avid Science Fiction reader who has literally read thousands of books, (maybe tens of thousands), I have never read Atlas Shrugged.

(The pun was just a happy accident.)

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I miss Asimov ( Foundation, I Robot and too many others to mention) and Rob ert Heinlein( Methuselahs Children Do you remember his recurring character Lazarus Long? How about Stranger in a Strange Land ?), Arthur Clark ( Child hoods End the movie was Terrible! ), Ray Bradbury ( Fahrenheit 451), Frank Herbert. Dune (Terrible Movie)

Modern SyFi just stopped being interesting to me about 15/20 years ago when it shifted to swords and dragons and half animal people. I got tired of T he only injection of SyFi I get now is from TV where very rarely is there a nything of substance for me. I got tired of the never ending Star Wars Blah Blah Blah, after the third movie on.

Atlas Shrugged is a fictionalized narrative of Ayn Rand's Philosophy. At th e very end it slips into a little bit of Science Fiction but 98% of the boo k is ( in my opinion) a prediction of exactly what is happening to Capitali sm today.

I have to say that her books helped me to be more productive and contented with my achievements and many other aspects having to do with productivity.

Basically, --It doesn't make any difference what you do (work wise) just be the best at it as you can.

Reply to
Jim Davis

Larry Niven has continued to pop out a book or two. Lots of collaborative work. I have a copy of Goliath Stone (2013) sitting on my desk waiting for a day or three to sit back and read.

Orson Scott Card has been fun for those who got into the Ender universe. Children of the Fleet was publish in 2017. Copy sitting next to the copy above. The Ender universe has been hugely successful financially for him, but its not the only thing he wrote. Wyrms comes to mind.

I liked (and also didn't like) that just about everything Asimov ever wrote tied back into the same story line in the end. My favorite character though was Elija Bailey. The final choice... the only one that allows you to change your mind if your wrong.

Heinlien pissed me off. I like a lot of his work. Read all of it, but when he wrote The Number of The Beast he wet off the deep end. Then The Cat Who Walks Through Walls was back to the Heinlien I enjoyed...until it turned not a sequel to Number of The Beast. Yuck! I like the classic Stranger in a Strange Land, but some of his lesser known work were among my favorites. Farmer in the Sky, Friday, Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Clarke produced a lot of interesting stuff, but some was just tragic futility. Can you honestly say there was any redeeming quality to Rendezvous With Rama?

Some I have not seen in a long time, but read all I could back in the day included Gordon R Dickson (more space army than sci fi), Pol Anderson, Fred Saberhagen...

How about Harry Harrison. Stainless Steel Rat was classic, but I admit the rest of that series was more profiteering off the success of the first book.

I can't recall the author off hand but how about Mutineer, Pirate, & Statesman.

A few years ago (10+) my wife gave me a subscription to Science Fiction Classics and a subscription to Science Fiction Signed First Editions. I was amazed that I had not read about a 1/3 of the classics. The signed first editions was all (mostly) classic science fiction, but modern. Some of it was quite good. Others felt like the author was trying to cover their mortgage payment. I'd say about 50% would have been considered good in the classic age of science fiction. It was worth it in my opinion.

Oh, come on. You don't like a good old magical fairy tale? How about Magic Kingdom for Sale or The Practice Effect. Then what about Dragon Riders of Pern? Seems like total fantasy... and then it turns into science fiction in the end after 20 books or so. LOL.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Finished and shipped several machined parts the last few days. My jobs list is getting shorter, but I am being more efficient.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

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