Hot Topic Essendon Board Non-Football COVID-19 Discussions

[Howard Moon]

hi all - you already know I'm an over-thinker so of course the times we are in at the moment are sending me into overdrive. I used to see it as a flaw, but now i see it as a strength.

anyhow, id like to put a few things out that are in my head - not sure if this is the right place but you guys are the only people I have who might listen!!!

I dunno, it feels like such a weird time, it's like everybody is in a holding pattern, walking around a bit listless, which is clearly understandable. For me the strange thing is, now more than ever we have this huge macro global event that has brought us closer together possibly more than anything in generations, yet we are being forced apart into micro forced socially isolated holes. The time we need each other we cant lean on each other... It really makes me re-evaluate what makes us human, our needs, what society or community means to us, are we actually designed to be herd animals or solitary?

Society has this trick of making people feel a part of it, a part of a greater thing- but it's fleeting. The herd is momentarily happy when its stomach is full and its bum is clean - take one away and everyone becomes lone wolfs pretty fast :/

in a broader sense it does make you wonder if living in clusters of millions of peoples is even tenable. I mean it looks like it works but that's when there is food on the supermarket shelves - it falls apart pretty fast when people are punching on over a packet of pasta. The hunter-gathers all lived in tribes of 50-100. all the primates don't get over 200. Perhaps there's something in that

Anyhow my overriding feeling is that we are and have been living wrong for centuries, we have attached our life systems to economics, consumerism, the mighty $$ as our societal drivers. It surely can't be right that the systems that we are attached to fall apart at any form of natural (or unnatural) duress and create undue panic and worse anxiety for the planet? at a time we should be worried about our health, the majority of the planet cares more about markets or falling dollars or recessions. Its mind boggling to me!

Perhaps its times like these that shake humanity enough to realise there might be another way? we may be on the wrong path of capitalism or bust...

This leads me to leadership. I think leadership has been taken for granted for so long, we have lived so comfortably for so long that leadership just became a game they played to see how much they could get away with. People were more than happy to self-lead in fact. Now we have an actual time when we need proper unified leadership and we have no qualified capable leaders! in fact nobody trusts a word any of them has to say.

clearly, we have a worldwide issue that needs solving, but it cant be solved individually, it needs to be a collective effort - but these powers have spent so long dividing us into diametrically opposed groups that now they cant bring it back together. Still bickering over party lines and whatnot. Come together ffs

as I've mentioned a few times, i found stoicism as a way of life a little while ago, i always seem to be pushing it like an Amway salesman but i really do think it's saved me. My partner mistakes it for being cold and calculated but i dunno...

anyway along the way ive learned a lot of lessons in how to lead a calm and measured existence, It has previously grounded me in day to day life but this is the first time ive been able to practice it during an actual time of duress. It has validated itself to me very fast and become clear that its a universal philosophy that is all-encompassing, no matter the external input.

The world is ever-changing, always in flux. Of course we will have a degree of fear about what is happening right now but as always its your response that is key to your overall disposition.

There are two types of fear

-crazy panic fear
-Wisdom fear

Panic fear hoards toilet rolls and runs about like a headless chook

Wisdom fear rationalises, adapts, learns. Wisdom fear washes hands, stays alert and ready to reorder life for the next change.

Always remember things happen, life is a constant flux. But each of these things are not inherently good or bad, happy or sad, scary or safe, they are just a neutral ambient happening. Your reactions to each happening are what make them what they are or can be to you. You cannot control things that happen in life but you can control your reaction. Let things happen, pause, consider then adapt, never get angry, sad, scared or even excited - these are emotions, not adaptations.

It's becoming hard to stick the course- pretty sure we are being layed off at work next week, rent needs paying, bills need paying. The little bursts of anxiety or panic come but subside when I take a few breaths and consider the reactions and what I can control.

Its not much but its something, i mean if you are at peace with what's happening in your day that's half the battle right?

anyhow its probably a good time to re-evaluate your own personal values, and in particular how you treat and react to others

i was in the shop the other day with a half-full trolly, as was the lady in front of me, we were in the self checkout line which was long... a guy with an arm full of items barged past us both and went to the first register... i looked at the lady, she looked at me.. she goes, you know what? i cant be bothered starting anything - we just let it be, we smiled and moved on. The little moments like that still make my day in the overall background of tension and anxiousness

stay safe everyone

 

[owen87]

hi all - you already know I'm an over-thinker so of course the times we are in at the moment are sending me into overdrive. I used to see it as a flaw, but now i see it as a strength.

anyhow, id like to put a few things out that are in my head - not sure if this is the right place but you guys are the only people I have who might listen!!!

I dunno, it feels like such a weird time, it's like everybody is in a holding pattern, walking around a bit listless, which is clearly understandable. For me the strange thing is, now more than ever we have this huge macro global event that has brought us closer together possibly more than anything in generations, yet we are being forced apart into micro forced socially isolated holes. The time we need each other we cant lean on each other... It really makes me re-evaluate what makes us human, our needs, what society or community means to us, are we actually designed to be herd animals or solitary?

Society has this trick of making people feel a part of it, a part of a greater thing- but it's fleeting. The herd is momentarily happy when its stomach is full and its bum is clean - take one away and everyone becomes lone wolfs pretty fast :/

in a broader sense it does make you wonder if living in clusters of millions of peoples is even tenable. I mean it looks like it works but that's when there is food on the supermarket shelves - it falls apart pretty fast when people are punching on over a packet of pasta. The hunter-gathers all lived in tribes of 50-100. all the primates don't get over 200. Perhaps there's something in that

Anyhow my overriding feeling is that we are and have been living wrong for centuries, we have attached our life systems to economics, consumerism, the mighty $$ as our societal drivers. It surely can't be right that the systems that we are attached to fall apart at any form of natural (or unnatural) duress and create undue panic and worse anxiety for the planet? at a time we should be worried about our health, the majority of the planet cares more about markets or falling dollars or recessions. Its mind boggling to me!

Perhaps its times like these that shake humanity enough to realise there might be another way? we may be on the wrong path of capitalism or bust...

This leads me to leadership. I think leadership has been taken for granted for so long, we have lived so comfortably for so long that leadership just became a game they played to see how much they could get away with. People were more than happy to self-lead in fact. Now we have an actual time when we need proper unified leadership and we have no qualified capable leaders! in fact nobody trusts a word any of them has to say.

clearly, we have a worldwide issue that needs solving, but it cant be solved individually, it needs to be a collective effort - but these powers have spent so long dividing us into diametrically opposed groups that now they cant bring it back together. Still bickering over party lines and whatnot. Come together ffs

as I've mentioned a few times, i found stoicism as a way of life a little while ago, i always seem to be pushing it like an Amway salesman but i really do think it's saved me. My partner mistakes it for being cold and calculated but i dunno...

anyway along the way ive learned a lot of lessons in how to lead a calm and measured existence, It has previously grounded me in day to day life but this is the first time ive been able to practice it during an actual time of duress. It has validated itself to me very fast and become clear that its a universal philosophy that is all-encompassing, no matter the external input.

The world is ever-changing, always in flux. Of course we will have a degree of fear about what is happening right now but as always its your response that is key to your overall disposition.

There are two types of fear

-crazy panic fear
-Wisdom fear

Panic fear hoards toilet rolls and runs about like a headless chook

Wisdom fear rationalises, adapts, learns. Wisdom fear washes hands, stays alert and ready to reorder life for the next change.

Always remember things happen, life is a constant flux. But each of these things are not inherently good or bad, happy or sad, scary or safe, they are just a neutral ambient happening. Your reactions to each happening are what make them what they are or can be to you. You cannot control things that happen in life but you can control your reaction. Let things happen, pause, consider then adapt, never get angry, sad, scared or even excited - these are emotions, not adaptations.

It's becoming hard to stick the course- pretty sure we are being layed off at work next week, rent needs paying, bills need paying. The little bursts of anxiety or panic come but subside when I take a few breaths and consider the reactions and what I can control.

Its not much but its something, i mean if you are at peace with what's happening in your day that's half the battle right?

anyhow its probably a good time to re-evaluate your own personal values, and in particular how you treat and react to others

i was in the shop the other day with a half-full trolly, as was the lady in front of me, we were in the self checkout line which was long... a guy with an arm full of items barged past us both and went to the first register... i looked at the lady, she looked at me.. she goes, you know what? i cant be bothered starting anything - we just let it be, we smiled and moved on. The little moments like that still make my day in the overall background of tension and anxiousness

stay safe everyone

I think if this situation goes on for an extended period of time - 6 weeks or more like we're seeing in large sections of the world - it may very well result in some big shifts in how people treat those around them and within their community. Being selfish and self-centred might work in a short term sense, when the world is abundant and plentiful, but we'll be forced to rely on our neighbours, family and friends a lot more now than we have in the past.

Maybe it'll be a good thing, arguably the world might become a better and more tolerant place after such a global shared experience. We haven't had anything on a global scale like this since what, WW2?

 

[Howard Moon]

I think if this situation goes on for an extended period of time - 6 weeks or more like we're seeing in large sections of the world - it may very well result in some big shifts in how people treat those around them and within their community. Being selfish and self-centred might work in a short term sense, when the world is abundant and plentiful, but we'll be forced to rely on our neighbours, family and friends a lot more now than we have in the past.

Maybe it'll be a good thing, arguably the world might become a better and more tolerant place after such a global shared experience. We haven't had anything on a global scale like this since what, WW2?

probably a good few generations at least? maybe that's the reason why society has steadily declined in morals since the boomers - no world wars to jolt people back to the reality that we might need each other

 

[owen87]

probably a good few generations at least? maybe that's the reason why society has steadily declined in morals since the boomers - no world wars to jolt people back to the reality that we might need each other

Perhaps; the political climate of most of the world has been very weird for a while now, very caught up in short-term government policies to win votes instead of long-term infrastructure, the disaster that is social media for our mental well-being and society, the devolving in to identity politics and the increasing the minutiae of who is or isn't allowed to have an opinion.

If this is done and dusted in a fortnight locally I don't think much will change, it it drags on for months I can see it having long-lasting impacts on our thinking towards a number of areas. Less individualistic societies (mostly Asian) have been far quicker to react and self-quarantine in the interests of their community whereas people here basically don't give a sh*t about anyone else.

The world has seem some incredible progress, but along the way I think we've lost a lot of what makes humans happy. This might change nothing, but it might be the post-WW2 style jolt that sees a shift in the world. Who knows which it'll be, but plenty of people are still in economy uber alles mode and have little to no concern about the health and well-being of the community at large.

 

[Lore]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert

Find out how we are monitoring and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, how you can help stop the spread of the virus in Australia and what to do if you have symptoms. We also report the latest case numbers, official medical advice and information on treatment.

www.health.gov.au

Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers

We are managing the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia as a health emergency. We will update this page every day by 9pm AEST with the current situation, latest case numbers and related information.

www.health.gov.au

https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/novel_coronavirus_2019_ncov_weekly_epidemiology_reports_australia_2020.htm

The last one is by far the most interesting (to me). It's the epidemiology reports which are published weekly, and include up to date information about the domestic and international cases (with data analysis), and information about severity, transmission, incubation, treatment, virology, frequency of different types of symptoms, who it is infecting by age/gender/etc. and the public health response among other things.

The next one should be up soon, they seem to be published a couple of days after the week ending cut off, so today maybe?

The one published a week ago is here:

https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/1D03BCB527F40C8BCA258503000302EB/$File/covid_19_au_epi_report_6_reporting_week_ending_1900_aedt_7_march_2020.pdf

e.g. summary page:

 

[Lore]

Also apparently the supermarket has run out of salt.

 

[Pweter]

Also apparently the supermarket has run out of salt.

How many more times do people need to be told "the shups aren't shutting"? Even overseas where countries are in lock down, people can still go to the shops. The herd mentality of stupidity is beyond belief and impacting everyone.

It's gotten to the point now where people who wouldn't even consider panic buying are panic buying for fear that the panic buyers will buy everything due to panic.

 

[GUMBLETRON]

This is interesting: https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-nobel-laureate-Coronavirus-spread-is-slowing-621145

 

[Darealrath]

This is interesting: https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-nobel-laureate-Coronavirus-spread-is-slowing-621145

It is but I'd be wary of extrapolating the example of China to the rest of the world as they took drastic measures that most other countries have not.

 

[Lore]

It is but I'd be wary of extrapolating the example of China to the rest of the world as they took drastic measures that most other countries have not.

The rate of growth and outcomes won't be the same depending on demographic, resources, timing, and the measures taken, and the spread slowing in China doesn't mean it's slowing anywhere else.

But the actual method he's using can be applied to anything, it's just math.

 

[Dero]

I am worried that the resultant poverty will cause more deaths than the virus.

 

[owen87]

I am worried that the resultant poverty will cause more deaths than the virus.

I’m hoping they release more support for small business, otherwise we’re going to have massive segments of the population out of work in a few months.

Bailing out just the big corporates isn’t sufficient.

 

[Dero]

I’m hoping they release more support for small business, otherwise we’re going to have massive segments of the population out of work in a few months.

Bailing out just the big corporates isn’t sufficient.

I have a bit of experience with this as an owner. We have been given the ability to alter our PAYG payment terms (for our plan) as well as a 25% reduction in our bill.

The biggest worry is our labour force. We have a bunch of people who rely on us for work and and we have already taken a big hit with the loss of scheduled aged care facilities , school work and other regular scheduled works etc.

Out casuals will have little or no work from Monday and many of our contractors will also be without work. We can just cover our permanent staff but even some of these may have to accept redundancy packages and come back as casuals until things improve.

 

[Runk]

I have a bit of experience with this as an owner. We have been given the ability to alter our PAYG payment terms (for our plan) as well as a 25% reduction in our bill.

The biggest worry is our labour force. We have a bunch of people who rely on us for work and and we have already taken a big hit with the loss of scheduled aged care facilities , school work and other regular scheduled works etc.

Out casuals will have little or no work from Monday and many of our contractors will also be without work. We can just cover our permanent staff but even some of these may have to accept redundancy packages and come back as casuals until things improve.

Yeah the $25,000 grants being made available to small business will assist but I'm not sure to what extent? A small BAS bill is always welcomed, but it's not going to cut it for a lot of businesses in the long run.

 

[Lore]

I'm just gonna leave this here.

Margaret Court’s church will be protected from coronavirus by ‘blood of Jesus’

The church has assured its members that their love of God will protect them and that ‘no plague shall come near your dwelling.’

7news.com.au

 

[Pweter]

I'm just gonna leave this here.

Margaret Court’s church will be protected from coronavirus by ‘blood of Jesus’

The church has assured its members that their love of God will protect them and that ‘no plague shall come near your dwelling.’

7news.com.au

A tennis legend she might be, but that's it. Her views are ancient and now officially dangerous

 

[Dero]

On the 24th of February, Italy had around 230 cases which is about where were at yesterday in Victoria on the 21st of March.

Today they have 53,000 plus cases and have had close to 5,000 deaths (~10% mortality rate of those who have been confirmed).

Now you could argue that the Italians are social people, living in closer quarters, with an older demographic who were under-prepared for what was coming but the figures are bloody scary when read next to ours.

 

[rumply]

NSW, Victoria and ACT signalled shutdown before PM's strict new measures

NSW, Victoria and the ACT Governments steam ahead with their own lockdown plans hours before Scott Morrison country-wide closures were announced.

www.abc.net.au

Key points:

• Victoria and NSW will push for businesses, including restaurants and bars, to be closed at a Cabinet meeting tonight
• Victoria will also ask for schools to be shut. If a wider national agreement is not reached, it will go it alone
• The Government will also consider locking down COVID-19 "red zones", as has been done in Wuhan and parts of Europe

 

[Mr Bultitude]

I'm just gonna leave this here.

Margaret Court’s church will be protected from coronavirus by ‘blood of Jesus’

The church has assured its members that their love of God will protect them and that ‘no plague shall come near your dwelling.’

7news.com.au

Crikey. My church pulled the pin almost 2 WEEKS ago, and we would just pip 200 on a busy Sunday. Just had my second week of streaming the service at home. At least I can have port instead of grape juice...

 

[Lore]

Talk of the town is a state-initiated shut down as of Tuesday.

 

[Dero]

Confirmed

 

[Mercurial89]

So when they say non essential is that pretty much food and basic services only things running?
Do businesses try and run from homes or is it pretty much pack it up for a week of two and sit at home?

 

[Dero]

So when they say non essential is that pretty much food and basic services only things running?
Do businesses try and run from homes or is it pretty much pack it up for a week of two and sit at home?

You’d think that any work activity that could be done in isolation would be fine?

 

[Mercurial89]

You’d think that any work activity that could be done in isolation would be fine?

Yeah I'm curious what I get told on Monday

 

[Donakebab]

I work in a government building with thousands of people, on Friday we were told/telling people it's business as usual. Forced work from home still not in place and not sure the servers will be able to handle the load. Feels pretty ridiculous tbh, but expecting massive changes this week.