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Tiny Grimes Profoundly Blue (Muse) And Al Haig-Jimmy Raney Special Brew (Spotlite) Haven't had my turntable set up in ages, but I wanted to transfer these two over.

Yep, the official MLB plan had them criss-crossing the border constantly with no quarantine. The (Canadian) feds officially said No today. Clearly the right decision. So the Blue Jays will either play in Buffalo or Florida. As far as I understand it, hockey is a completely different situation where all the eligible teams come up to two Canadian sites (Edmonton and Toronto) and then they don't leave until the playoffs are over. In fact, only at the very end in the finals would the east and west teams meet. So we'll see.

Toronto has just put an indoor mask policy in place and there haven't been huge pushbacks (that I am aware of or have witnessed). Mask use is also mandatory on the main transit (TTC) and will be mandatory by mid-July on commuter transit (GO Rail). I don't see a lot of mask wearing when just out and about, people walking on sidewalk (maybe 30%), but I guess the science is a bit mixed and masks outdoors aren't as critical. Ontario is hovering around 100 new cases a day (finally better than Quebec!) and Toronto is usually 40-50. So not beaten here by any stretch, but generally looking good (until Wave 2...).

The other big unknown is if COVID is mutating so rapidly to the point that an effective vaccine can't be found or would only be valid for a season or two (which is essentially the case with the flu).

I'm sorry to hear that. Hope things are brought back under control. Most of Ontario moves to Phase 3 this week, though Greater Toronto Area is still in Phase 2. I'm guessing 2-3 more weeks to go for us.

This is just about the most brazen thing I've seen yet. (The allegedly in the title is maybe uncalled for in this case...) https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/delivery-driver-caught-on-video-allegedly-taking-package-he-had-just-delivered-1.5008961 And up here in Canada!

Gaming the system?

I realize this is only a single school board in Alberta, and things are handled a bit looser in the States, but based on the advice of experts, "music classes will not have in-person singing, cheering or shouting. Students enrolled in band will not be able to play wind instruments." So that pretty much completely wipes out symphonic band and choir, leaving only string ensembles. I realize this may only impact a couple of years in these kids' lives (though it might stretch to 3+ years when all is said and done), but it does seem like an important chain is being snapped and Gen Z may end up not having much, if any, musical training. A depressing thought to start a dreary weekend...

An interesting development to be sure... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/07/jair-bolsonaro-coronavirus-positive-test-brazil-president The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus. “It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime outside his official residence. “There’s no reason for fear. That’s life,” the president added.

David Price has announced he will sit out the shortened season.

I've bought a region-free DVD player (already made region-free) and it worked fine. I also punched in the secret code on a second one and that also worked. Most of the instructions are still floating around in places like Reddit. I'm fairly sure that the sales of DVDs are probably even worse relative to CDs, so this isn't the highest priority of the studios, though they aren't about to abandon the region-locked system. Every so often I consider getting a Blu-Ray player but it is a bit harder to get an all-region player relative to how easy it is to obtain or mod a DVD player.

I suppose (some fraction of) young people were always this stupid and we just hear a lot more about them now with Twitter and TikTok and Youtube, but really this takes the cake... https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/people-in-alabama-are-throwing-covid-19-parties-with-a-payout-when-one-gets-infected-official-1.5007903 "Some young people in Alabama are throwing COVID-19 parties, a disturbing competition where people who have coronavirus attend and the first person to get infected receives a payout, local officials said. The parties are being held in Tuscaloosa, and infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus..."

Our leadership is not looking to bring us back to office yet, but they have spent a lot of time putting down floor markings and such. (On weekends, I go in and then offer "constructive" criticism like telling them all doors into an area are marked one way, so you are literally trapped inside (if you respect markings). It's an evolving thing...) But most of our meeting rooms will only hold 3 people now and the larger ones 6. If you can't have a proper team meeting anyway, what's the point of trying for an in-person meeting if most of the team gets left out? (And while the upper management irks me much of the time, they do take safety seriously. There is no way anyone will be able to sneak in an extra person above what the room is signed for.)

I was able to go inside a used book store and do actual browsing over the weekend (wearing a mask & hand sanitizer, etc.). That was an interesting milestone. I also visited a couple of small art galleries (our major museums are reopening over next few weeks). We've just reopened malls in Toronto and barber shops/beauty salons, though gyms and movie theatres and indoor concerts are all still no-go. I won't go (don't have a car), but one entrepreneur is getting ready to open a drive-in movie theatre in Toronto.

Wrapped up The Plague only to discover that the university library isn't processing returns after all. Oh well. If I had known I had another month to return it, I probably would have procrastinated some more. Currently a chapter into Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I've meant to read for the longest time. Will also be starting The Night Buffalo by Guillermo Arriaga. Apparently this was made into a movie, though not sure I'll watch that (have to get through the novel first...) After this, most likely I will reread Don Quixote.

If I was going to launder money I'd probably get a bubble tea place.

I don't know how true but there are a bunch of dollar a slice pizza joints in downtown Vancouver and the rumour is most of them are linked to money laundering. Price may have gone up somewhat but still way below what you pay for a slice in Toronto, Chicago, New York, etc.

Some recent studies have suggested 25-30% max of US working population can realistically telecommute (and of course this is more like 80-90% of white collar employment), but too many other things still involve physically being there (construction, farming, resource extraction, most health care jobs, cleaning services, beauty salons, etc.). They are trying to keep most office workers out of downtown Toronto until Sept., so we'll see how this all plays out.

I'm hearing that once returning to work (in indoor locations) most office workers really ought to carry 3 masks and replace throughout the day (particularly after removing to eat lunch) and then wash them all each night. The odds of everyone following this advice are nil, but presumably some people will. I mean given that the masks are really to prevent your droplets from spreading to others, I don't think it matters that much if the mask is reused (though obviously if you haven't washed your hands well, then you increase your odds of catching COVID).

Subways are (well, were) just incredibly packed in rush hour. When transferring at Bloor-Yonge you can expect to have to wait for three trains to pull in before actually squeezing onto one! Fortunately trains are every 1.5-2 minutes in rush hour, though this is still annoying (and didn't feel safe even pre-COVID). This is driven by huge downtown office growth. Very different from my memories of Toronto in the early 90s.

After all the travails of the first pressing, I was pleasantly surprised to get a shipping notice right away. When it actually arrives (and whether it makes it here by Canada Day) is an open question. (Also, whether I have to pay duty on it or not.)

I used to live in Brooklyn almost at Coney Island. I always had a seat coming in to work, so often used that for writing (pretty sure I finished a couple of dissertation chapters on the inbound train) but stood all the way going home, so would read then. In Toronto I virtually never get a seat on the bus or train (except for weekends) back when I was still taking transit, so that was generally fine for reading (unless the bus was really crowded).

I've actually enjoyed it when I've sat down and read (despite it hitting a bit too close to home) but have been very distracted by work creeping into all other aspects of my life (Zoom calls ending at 7:30, etc.) as I do my part in planning to help the recovery up here. The two places I do the most sustained reading (while riding transit or stationary bikes at the gym) are both off limits for time being.

In queue at the library. Let us know what you think. Thanks. Finally buckling down and finishing Camus's The Plague. Probably will wrap up tonight.

Sounds like some promising news on the vaccine front, though the early signs are that it may not be as effective for seniors. Quite a long road still to go, however. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/23/covid-19-vaccine-may-not-work-for-at-risk-older-people-say-scientists Am pleased that Toronto has just moved into Stage 2 of recovery, so more retail, barbershops, easier access to dentists(!), and probably art galleries and museums opening up. No indoor concerts or theatre yet. For several weeks, Toronto was the last really locked down major metro area in North America, but our metrics have been moving in the right direction. Hopefully the second wave won't be as bad as the experts fear. (Not looking great in the States, but a bit more under control up here.)